Between The Lines
by MrQuestionMark
Summary: The unspoken stories of this world. The lives of this world have been happening for as long as one can remember, even if they have not been spoken. Now, it is time for the veil surrounding that to be removed. These are those stories that can only be read when one looks...Between The Lines. SEPARATE project to A Certain Unknown Level 0.
1. The Memory of Long Ago

**Welcome to Between the Lines.**

**This is a separate project for another one that you probably know me best for on this fanfiction category: A Certain Unknown Level 0. If you wanted a back story for this project, it was back when all the data on my USB was erased and I felt that I had to make it up to those that really wanted to read what I was writing. As I had no knew material though, I made it up through these one-shots. And here they are on an official page.**

**This was perhaps because of the fact that I felt as though my main story focuses on a particular character for the time length of an arc but at the same time, the character becomes the focus for the length of that arc and perhaps can be mentioned later in other arcs and even participate. Of course, I hope that no one complains about that but the major disadvantage there in the fact that, well one has to put up with what I write for the length of that arc.**

**I realize that many people out there would want me to write different characters in a context that is perhaps closer to the canon than my own project there but at the same time, this project is really one that allows me to really focus on light hearted nature that this series gives, especially with its different characters.**

**Please note though that this project really doesn't have anything to do with my other one UNLESS someone really wants me to write something that was seen A Certain Unknown Level 0 that they want expanded in this field here. Similarly, anything that is written here is something that does not really count for A Certain Unknown Level 0 as well. In this respect though, the SS 2013 Christmas Special is something that perhaps belongs here as it is non-canon to the story line.**

**If you wanted to see if I wrote anything like that once again, perhaps this would be the place to visit in the future.**

**But is I wanted to say something about this project, it's that as it is one-shots, I leave the topics and what you want me to write about up to you. Think of it as a customizable restaurant. You choose the 'menu' or the one-shots and I'll see what I can do.**

**Yet at the same time, I really want you guys to remember that I'll be balancing the others works that I have as well.**

**But first and foremost, (excluding those that did not already read this previously), I want to thank my beta reader PokeRescue18 for this work with this. He didn't really have to but he contributed and I really am thankful for this. It's probably because he got on board that I did in the first place.**

**And thanks for sticking with this strange project for me.**

**And this applies to all chapters from now on so I don't have to write it again:**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own To Aru Majustu No Index nor its affiliations or anything written by Kamachi Kazuma or owned by such.**

**But apart from that: enjoy.**

**Mr Question Mark.**

* * *

><p>The Memory that Only One Remembers. <em>Connection_in_the_Heart<em>

"Look, look! Isn't that-!?"

"It is!"

"But why are they here?"

The Tokiwadai Middle School students in their gym uniforms merely stood among the 'commoners' round them as they noted the lecherous stares of the boys around them and the sudden tightness that their uniforms seemed to have.

"Honestly, why is that we have to come here for gym? Even though we have a pool back at school, I think it's rather pointless that we need to do specific tasks for each day."

Misaka Mikoto remarked that in an off handed fashion while leaning against the wire mesh fence of the sports equipment that the Tokiwadai students had managed to hire for the day, although in very small numbers given the size and status of the school.

Whether or not it reflected the fact that Tokiwadai had better facilities that they were not willing to rent out all of the facilities or the fact that some people were jealous of the 'ojou-sama' image that the students held, some of the students were made to sit on the benches in front of the equipment that was in front of them while others were made to use it.

The equipment in nature? The batting cage that was located in District 7.

Although it was after school, something that caused a problem for most of the students that were made to endure this primitive batting facility, these students were those that had managed to skip out from gym class for numerous reasons and as such, this pseudo-supplementary class had been set up especially for them.

Yet-

"What I don't get though is why you're here. I would think you would save us both the trouble of meeting each other with that Mental Out of yours, _Shokuhou Misaki_."

Mikoto frowned towards the girl that was sitting on the bench in front of the equipment, much like the others, as she waved a hand and parted the girls that were surrounding her as if they were clothes on a rack.

Shokuhou merely smiled towards Mikoto, even though she was in her gym uniform, as she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I would like nothing better _Misaka-san." _replied Shokuhou with a casual tone although the tension in it was detectable by that fellow Level 5. "But it seems that my little tolerance ability for gym has meant that in order to attempt to get me to be more athletic, the teachers have requested me to be here. Although I could merely manipulate their memories, I do need a breath of fresh air. Not only that but it gives me the chance to see how things are on the outside."

Mikoto frowned in regards to what the other Level 5 said, noticing though that there were definitely some people in the crowd that was around Shokuhou that were not wearing the Tokiwadai uniform that they were both wearing.

Was she expanding her 'influence' beyond the school grounds? Or was she slowly spreading her influence in order to get a peek into the minds of those that did not see through the fake façade that she had set up herself?

Mikoto wondered however she knew that Shokuhou would never intentionally put people under her control in any life-threatening danger so she had no need to try and stop Shokuhou from mingling with others. But the fact that she could do such a thing without a care for others really annoyed her.

Why control other people's lives when they were theirs to live? Was that a rejection of their will, their very purpose? It was a philosophical question however the fact that Shokuhou could literally toy with people's will and being without a care went against the ideals that Mikoto held.

"So in the end, are you actually going to do anything? With those pieces of fat, I imagine you must have had a hard time actually getting here." remarked Mikoto with a bitter tone.

"You on the other hand had no trouble getting here, you monster Amazon. Did you escape from a battle manga Misaka-san?"

Both of the Level 5s looked at each other, although the silent sparks that escaped through their eyes collided in mid-air although it was something that was not noticeable by those around them.

"Misaka! Your turn is up! You're the last one today so we're using 1000 balls for your practice, hit using your power to manipulate the bats and we're all done! Everyone else, you can stay or leave but head back to your dorms before curfew is up!"

Their gym teacher, called out to the others and most of the students bid each other a good day, although most of them did so to Shokuhou before finally leaving, meaning that the majority of the girls that remained were those that seemed to be drawn towards Shokuhou's centre of gravity, although to Mikoto it was more the centre of her chest.

She also noted that although Shokuhou had not had her turn, Mikoto was the last one to be called. Although it bothered her that once again she was messing with people's memories, appealing to her better nature was not something that Mikoto thought was possible.

Boys stood around the cage as well as some girls as Mikoto walked into the cage with her hands in her pockets of her gym uniform, looking at the ball dispensers at the end of the cage.

They were set up in two rows of two, each of them placed so they looked like a four on a die. Mikoto looked to the side, at the bats that were placed on the edge of the cage, walking over to each of them as she lifted them up and inspected them from close up.

"Bats are more Saten-san's field but…."

Mikoto said that comment offhand before she opened her hands, manipulating magnetism in order to lift 4 bats from the ground so that they hovered in front of her expertly as she maintained a proper batting stance even though she was not holding a bat.

The bats floated around her and lined themselves up on both her right and left in front of as Mikoto closed one eye as she watched the ball dispensers go into motion, slowly moving the first ball into the slot.

"And-!"

The voice of the gym teacher resounded through the air and numerous students brought out their phones as they watched the girl, unwanted attention that made Mikoto maintain a stiff smile.

Attention during gym was the last thing that she wanted however she put up with it. If anything, if she acted on the attention, Shokuhou would probably manipulate the memory in order to portray her as a beast that she wanted everyone to think Mikoto was. And there was no way that Mikoto was going to give into that!

"Begin!"

The gym teacher's voice immediately unleashed the balls from the ball dispensers as Mikoto used her magnetism to swing the bats as she swung her imaginary bat in the process, the sound of 4 balls hitting 4 bats filling the batting cage as the balls sailed into the air and hit the roof of the cage.

Cries of awe filled the area however a shout of "There's more!" made everyone turn towards the sight of Mikoto swing the bats in repetitive actions, each of them hitting their targets as Mikoto moved the bats around in order to possibly provide a challenge for herself the entire time.

Yet, although all eyes were on Mikoto, there was one person whose eyes were not.

Shokuhou Misaki looked not at the cage where Mikoto was batting with surprising accuracy (as was to be expected with that sporty girl) but rather at the cage that was next to her, a cage that was marked with tape that read 'Do Not Enter' across it. The cage itself seemed in good condition however the ball dispenser at the end was gone, the only thing replacing it being a large black mass with the metal plate bent outwards from the inside as if something had burst out from within it.

The girls that had surrounded Shokuhou had already moved away from her in order to observe the form of Mikoto however even so, Shokuhou had not minded this once. She crossed her legs, placing her elbow on her knee as she leaned her head on her hand while looking to the left of the cage where Mikoto was batting.

There had been another reason why Shokuhou had chosen to stay in this place and not manipulated the memory of the Tokiwadai staff completely when it came to this pointless gym exercise.

This was another place where she had a memory with perhaps the most important person in her life.

As the incident that regarded Mitsuari Ayu was over, she was glad to see that, like with the Ground Geo, this location matched what happened in her memory and this was one of the things where she had possibly done the unexpected with a person that exceeded every expectation that had been placed on her.

That time was perhaps one of the few occasions where she had been glad to initially start the sporty program that 'he' had egged her on to do, although it had ended with disaster.

Shokuhou laughed without meaning to as she remembered the thought, attracting attention of those around her, especially Mikoto causing her to miss numerous of the balls that were being fired in rapid succession now, although she didn't care.

This was one of her many memories.

Memories of that summer that seemed so long ago.

* * *

><p>"That's why we're here."<p>

The younger Kamijou Touma stood on the other side of the batting cage in his summer uniform with his arms crossed and his face looking proud while the younger, underdeveloped Shokuhou Misaki trembled while standing in the batting cage.

"I-It seemed like such a good idea at first. I-It honestly did." Shokuhou trembled now that she had been stripped of her handbag by Kamijou, something that was sitting next to his side as he watched her however even then she did not take notice.

Her hands trembled around the wooden bat that she was trying to lift up and she mentally cursed herself for allowing her to be persuaded by the somewhat convincing argument that the boy had given her when they had managed to meet by chance in a convenience store that sold school stationary.

She may have been a high-class rich girl but even Shokuhou knew that there was no point going to buy the most expensive pencils and pens when there were cheaper options that lasted longer and were half the price.

They had simply met before one thing had led to another, Kamijou offering to show her something that she had yet to experience. She cursed herself for letting her guard down when she was with him however even since she had received that damn whistle from him, she had never really thought of him as a person that she had to put up that façade for.

He accepted her for who she was and that, given everything that had happened regarding Dolly, was perhaps something stronger than words of the wise or endless gifts and praise.

However even then, she seemed rather let down that she had been tamed by him in the short time that they had known each other but she only blamed herself. After all, these experiences seemed to bring something new to her each time so she didn't regret any of them.

Well, she probably did now.

"What are you talking about? What happened to the impression of a 'young woman' that you wanted!? You're lacking the breasts but you may as well improve in the improvement in areas that you have no talent in!"

"Shut up! I am a young woman! No man can resist my charm!" retorted Shokuhou as she turned her head and dropped the wooden bat, pointing to herself in pride.

"Sure, sure. You're the best Shokuhou. Just pick up the bat OK?" replied Kamijou as he waved his hand back and forth.

"What is that half-assed answer? Are you trying to be nice or something?!" complained Shokuhou as she stormed to the edge of the cage.

"Hah! Of course! Through the use of fox words, I shall overcome this obstacle and help you improve towards the objective that you want! Besides, you're better at sport than you think. When you jabbed me in the head with your bag, that followed the same motion of hitting a ball you know?" replied Kamijou although he had no need to fear Mental Out given her confines in then cage and having being stripped of her powers. **[1]**

Shokuhou grumbled to herself however recognised the effort that the boy was making. He was taking his own time in order to help Shokuhou with something that she didn't really need help with so it was questionable what she thought she would get out of this encounter however she went along with it anyway.

"How I hit you with my bag huh? Well, I just got the edge and swung." replied Shokuhou as she trembled and lifted the bat up slowly.

"Yeah, yeah like that! I'm kind of scared if this will make me develop some strange tendencies in the future but yeah! Imagine you're hitting me! Wait….actually do you have some sort of grudge against me!? I don't think I did anything serious to you you know! I apologised for what happened in District 21 didn't I!?"

Shokuhou swung the bat with all of her might, completing the action with an accuracy that even baseball professionals would have gagged at had they seen the action that she had performed.

"Do you want to come over here and say that!?" she asked, a dark miasma-like substance flowing from her mouth.

"I-I'll think I'll pass. But yeah! Like that! Do it a few more times!"

Shokuhou did as she was asked, Kamijou from the other side of the cage demonstrating with a bat the correct position that Shokuhou emulated and it was a short time later that they had undertaken using actual balls in the practice towards making Shokuhou more athletic.

'OK! You ready Shokuhou?"

"N-No! You never said we would be doing this like this! I want the easy method! Can't we start with something softer than an actual ball?!" she quivered in fright as she looked towards Kamijou who was standing near the edge of the cage with his hand on a lever that unleashed the balls from the dispenser.

"You'll never learn like that! Where do you think you'll get if you don't put in the effort?"

"Those types of words will not convince me to act! The whole 'you can do it' act ability won't work on me!"

"OK, unleashing ball number 1 now!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?" There was a clicking sound on the other end of the cage and Shokuhou saw the ball load itself into the slot.

She remembered her training. She looked at the bat that was in her arms, tensed her fingers in their gloves and looked up towards the ball that was coming her way-

Just as the ball itself whizzed past her head, the air from the momentum lifting her hair up in all directions.

'K-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? I-I won't do it! I won't! I almost died there! Let me out! Let me out!" screamed the athletic girl as she pounded on the cage with her hands, attracting stares from those around her in response.

Kamijou on the other hand merely gave a sigh, opening the cage however walked into it with her before closing it. She gave him a strange look as he did so.

"What are you doing?! I wanted you to-"

"I know what you wanted. But at the same time, there are some things that you have to bear even though you don't want to accept them. That's just how things are OK? I know that you know what I mean." Kamijou said to her with a small smile on his face.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Shokuhou to which Kamijou merely pointed to the door.

"_I didn't unlock that door to get in. _You could have left anytime. But you stayed. That means that a part of you at least wants there to be some form of progress in this right?" he asked her.

"Ah." Shokuhou's face slightly went red however she turned away before Kamijou could see the action. Although she didn't want to admit it, the day had progressed well for her even though she was doing something that she was not used to and she felt rather selfish in the sense that she had wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

"Just stay for a bit longer OK? And call me Kamijou-sensei! I'll give you the crash course that you need to make a name for yourself within seconds!" he shouted with enthusiasm as he picked up the bat on the ground.

"Kamijou-sensei? I think not. You must have a large amount of confidence ability if you think I have enough respect ability or affection points for you to call you that!" she said however the boy paid it no mind as he walked towards her with the bat, handing it to her which she reluctantly took.

And then, something sudden happened that Shokuhou had never expected.

Kamijou circled behind her and grabbed her hands that were placed on the bat without warning, his body pressing up against hers in a position that middle school students had indecent thoughts about at their age.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-!" stammered Shokuhou however Kamijou raised his hands, and thus Shokuhou's as they watched the ball in the ball dispenser hang there.

"OK. The first thing is to keep an eye on the ball. You got that? No matter what happens, the ball is the reason why you're here. When you lose sight of that then you've already lost. The ball will come at you at an incredible speed but your bat is your weapon. It is the thing that allows you to strike and overcome this obstacle that you've chosen to overcome. Have you got that young Padawan?" asked Kamijou.

"Th-The ball is my target. The bat is my weapon. Understood sen-What the!? I almost gave in just then! Just how good is your persuasion ability?!" Shokuhou asked as she turned her head however found that the boy's face was a little too close for her comfort, turning away as she looked at the ball in the dispenser.

"Never mind that! Are you ready? The ball is going to come anytime now!" yelled Kamijou, making her jump.

"A-Anytime!? What do you-"

The ball fired from the dispenser and Shokuhou let out a scream as she swung the bat, while Kamijou was still holding onto her hands.

The bat swung through the air as the ball flew through it-

*Swoosh*

*Smack*

*Splat*

"Ow! M-My liver! You hit my liver! Just how hopeless are you!?" yelled Kamijou as he rolled on the ground however it was Shokuhou that answered back with an even more pressing remark.

"Are you kidding me!? That ball hit me in the face even though I clipped it! I knew that this had bad idea ability written all over it!" cried Shokuhou as she picked up the ball that was in front of her on the ground, trying to throw it at Kamijou's face and, even though he was right in front of her, she missed and it landed in front of the boy.

There was an awkward silence as the two students looked at the ball, Kamijou eventually standing up and placing a comforting hand on Shokuhou's shoulder.

"It's OK. We won't do this again."

"D-Did you just give up!? What were you talking about bearing things before? Are you allowed to even quit like this as my tutor?" protested Shokuhou at the unfair dismissal and giving up attitude that Kamijou had adopted.

"Don't say that when you're not even paying me! I'm a Level 0 so if a Level 5 were to be paying me, I would do anything you wanted for a reasonable fee! I think I was wrong in my approach to teach you anyway. OK, then how about this way?" Kamijou, while holding his liver approached the bat and picked it up from the ground as Shokuhou moved to the side as she watched the boy.

"First, watch how I do it! And then if you want to continue then-"

*Pfft*

"Eh?"

"Eh?"

There was the sound of something ejecting and both Shokuhou and Kamijou turned in order to see the baseball flying at top speed right towards Kamijou's face. Even though Shokuhou had managed to clip the ball, she had done so with Kamijou holding it as well, so the impact to her face (which had left a rather amusing bruise) had not been that severe.

But that would not be the same for Kamijou who was caught completely unaware.

And he reacted in the way that a normal middle school student would.

"Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttttttttttt!" Kamijou swung the bat with all his might, his hands sweating unreasonably from the sudden stress yet-

The ball landed squarely in Kamijou's face, the momentum on the swing that Kamijou was meaning that the bat was still in motion, the sweat on his hands causing him to loosen the grip on the bat because of the ball hitting him in the face, meaning that the bat sailed out of his grip and flew through the air.

Furthermore, the blow to Kamijou's face literally through him off his feet as he landed on the ground, rolling on the ground as he clutched his face as the ball rolled on the ground, with a touch of red on it.

And the response of the person that had witnessed the entire thing?

"Really?! And you criticise my athletic ability with th-"

Although Shokuhou said that, she raced towards the boy however never got the chance to reach him. The reason was simple.

Remember that bat that had flown out of Kamijou's grip? Said bat had flown through the air in such a parabolic arc that it seemed to defy the laws of physics and mathematics, circling through the air and hitting the dispenser machine right in the middle of it loading in the next ball.

Naturally, the malfunction in the working equipment had caused a small spark however that was all that was needed to set the wooden bat alight, something that given the close proximity to the electrical equipment set it alight as well.

The resulting explosion threw Shokuhou off her feet as the cloud of dust that erupted from the ball dispenser meant that the remains of it was the sheet of metal that the dispenser had been on being dyed black from the smoke with a large area of metal distorted where the explosion had occurred.

Shokuhou went wide eyed as she looked at the scene in front of her while the boy on the ground merely rose his head and also went wide eyed.

The fire alarm whined and sprayed the two of them with water however Shokuhou had no response to what had just happened.

Her companion on the other hand had different ideas.

"S-Such misfortuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

* * *

><p>Was that a good memory or a bad memory?<p>

Shokuhou Misaki had a hard time deciding however even then, her mind went back towards two things that that boy had said during that time.

_"I apologised for what happened in District 21 didn't I!?"_

_"But at the same time, there are some things that you have to bear even though you don't want to accept them. That's just how things are OK?"_

Although then and there, they hadn't meant anything to Shokuhou, given now, they suddenly increased in significance.

District 21. While to Shokuhou, it was the sight of their second meeting, it was the sight for Kamijou of a mark of failure. The black spot that he had borne unfairly, a black spot that had been caused by Shokuhou herself.

And that had been something that he had been made to bear unfairly, without anyone asking or telling him what was fair in that regard.

He had said both of those things towards someone who he should have blamed for happening however he had made no angry remark or outburst towards her. Instead, he had merely stuck with her and continued to smile a pure smile that had nothing resembling malice inside it.

He was surely tearing himself up on the inside every time he saw her yet he had chosen to stick with her and even made time to spend with her, doing something that she had stupidly complained about.

He should have gotten angry. He should have retorted with a remark about what Shokuhou had done.

If he had, Shokuhou would not have blamed him.

But he had done none of that.

He had simply smiled at her purely without malice and allowed herself to enjoy her time, even though it had ended with disaster.

"And that's us done. Well done Misaka. 99.5% of the balls were hits and the rest were misses. Do you think that you could improve for the perfect score next time?" asked the gym teacher as they opened the batting cage door and led Mikoto out.

"Of course sensei. Although I could do without the distractions, I will do my best next time." said Mikoto with a slight glare towards Shokuhou however the 5th Level 5 had merely stood up, bowing towards her teacher and not even responding towards Mikoto's remark as she left that batting arena.

This was a place where she had maintained a small memory within her heart and now that she thought about it, trying to taint it with the distortions of the present was nothing more than trampling on the feelings that she held within her.

With her handbag over her shoulder, she took the exit that she knew Mikoto would not take, exiting out so that the Windowless Building was in the distance.

She took a deep breath, her chest expanding as she did so, attracting the stares of some boys however even then, she concentrated on the smell of the area that was behind her.

That smell and place was something that was only one part of her memories with that boy however even so, it made her remember those times that had been lost and held by her only. She knew that trying to hold onto them was selfish….

"But at the same time, there are some things that you have to bear even though you don't want to accept them. That's just how things are OK? Isn't that right?" she asked rhetorically to no one in particular as she reached into her bag, feeling the small silver whistle that was inside, the feeling and reminiscence that it gave serving as nothing more as a further reminder of those lost days.

Was there a chance that they would come back?

Would there ever be the chance she would regain that hero that she had lost?

She hoped. But even so, that hope was something that she had to bear for herself right now.

She exhaled and started off yet-

"Touma. I don't exactly see how this is going to help me in anyway."

"I agree. Why did I have to come anyway?"

Shokuhou froze, seeing in the distance to her left that there were four figures that were approaching; a quartet containing a small nun, a smallish figure within that nun's arms as well as a cat and-

Him.

"It's good motor skills! You may as well obtain some usefulness Index! You too Othinus! Neither of you can cook so the only thing that I can imagine you doing is nothing more than hitting people! Especially you Othinus! I remember that home run you did with my head before you revived me! What the hell was that about you sadist!?"

"You were my enemy at the time you dumbass! Did you want me to show you a world where they was nothing but junk food in order to make you die from overeating!?"

"Overeating…"

"I-Index! Please snap out of it! I-If you think about the impossible given my budget then the only thing that's going to suffer will be my head at the end of the day! So don't give her extra ideas Othinus!"

"Then why are you telling us to do this Touma?!"

"Wait. You aren't going to load me in the dispenser as some sort of payback are you!? I've already had to deal with his caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" The smallish figure screamed as the calico cat swatted the smallish figure's body with its paws, each impact causing the smallish form to tremble in fear.

"S-Sphynx?! Stop that!" 'He' shouted as he tried to grab the small cat from the nun's arms as he looked at both the nun and smallish figure. "And as for why I brought you here-"

"You shouldn't need to explain yourself."

The figures all turned towards the person that had spoken, Shokuhou finding that it was herself. Why had she spoken when she had kept a distance all this time? What worth was there in this action?

She did not know but she found herself continuing with her words.

"He merely wants to show you something that they haven't seen before. There is not much time for things like this so the fact that he is going to ensure your happiness with a new experience is an experience in itself. There are many people that want to do that. With parents, friends, lovers and crushes. But they can't, because of numerous circumstances. So embrace the fact that you can right now. Embrace the fact that there are probably people with high jealous ability of what you have that they cannot attain themselves."

Shokuhou stopped as she looked at the figures that were staring at her with expressions that were hard to determine however Shokuhou felt that intruding this far was far enough.

"I apologise for my interruption. But that is what I feel. Sorry and have a nice day." She turned without a word, hearing the excited voices of the people behind her that she had encouraged with her own words.

Yes.

Her own words that reflected her own heart.

In the end, even though that boy could not even see her or remember her anymore, she still had trouble in maintaining that façade around him. Was that how she really felt? Was that what was hidden in her heart this entire time?

Was she still longing for something that could not be?

"Hah. I guess I really do have some great selfish ability."

"That's fine though you know."

A voice behind her made her turn suddenly, seeing that boy that had managed to leave his group and make his way over to where she was.

He pointed behind him.

"Thanks for that. They might not get it but I think that trying to experience something normal is good given everything we get up to these days."

There were so many things that Shokuhou wanted to say. There were so many things that she wanted to do and experience with this boy once again however she knew that they could not be in this one moment.

This was an illusion that had been broken long ago and in its place the illusion of loneliness with the chance of never being able to express her true feelings towards anyone again.

But that was something that she had caused herself.

And it was her curse to bear.

"No worries. I was merely speaking what was on my mind." Shokuhou answered with a perfect smile that would have made any boy hers.

"Really?" asked the boy as he glanced down towards the emblem on her uniform, although given its location there were perhaps other things that he could be staring at.

His question hung in the air and before Shokuhou could say anything, the boy added in whatever was coming at the end.

"Well, then if you have time do you think you want to join us for some practice?"

"…Eh?"

Shokuhou's mind went blank as she tried to register what it was that the boy had said. What….was he saying? There was no way that he should remember her whatsoever so where was this request coming from? She wanted to peer into her mind however rejected the thought as soon as it appeared, given her personal rule.

Even though he did not remember her, he was still him. And there was no changing that so why had he asked her? What was the purpose?

Was there a chance that he-

"When you were talking before, you said that there were others that might be jealous of what we have. I…know that all too well. But at the same time, I think that although we might be strangers, it might be something that I can help fill. I understand if you say no. I mean, we've just met each other. But still, if you want to, you know-" The boy tried to sound causal however his attempt went sourly, resorting to him scratching the back of his head and giving a small chuckle.

Yet-

"Yes."

The boy blinked once before looking at Shokuhou.

"Um…..yes? Yes what? Yes you understand or yes-?"

"Yes. I would like to join you very much. I'd be happy to join you in fact." Shokuhou felt something crawl onto her lips, a smile that perhaps was one that she hadn't truly felt in a while. It appeared on her face as naturally as her façade did with others in the case of that boy and that smile was mirrored on the boy's face.

"Really? That's great! Do you know much about-"

"Ha ha. Nothing whatsoever. I had a great teacher once. But…he sort of stopped teaching me for various reasons. He got into an accident of sorts and hasn't recovered." Shokuhou found herself being painfully honest and once again felt as though the façade that she put up was sometimes crushed in the presence of this boy.

"Really? Well, I hope you're OK with me being a replacement." The boy laughed once before looking at Shokuhou and sticking out his hand.

"Kamijou Touma." he said with his extended hand.

Shokuhou merely looked at the hand, thinking about the possible choices that she had in this one moment. Was this right? Was this a dream that was nothing more than a cruel joke in order to torment her as she lost the person that she had wanted to be with so much?

Or was it coincidence? Was the possible chance that this moment was real?

That in this City of science where fate and luck was not real, miracles could possibly exist?

She knew it was selfish but right now, she did not care. What had she wanted?

Just as that boy had said, she had wanted that gap within her to be filled, even though it was a gap that would constantly empty as he forgot her. But even though that was the case, she had wanted that gap to be filled. She had wished for such even though she knew that nothing would come from it.

And-

There was only one thing that Shokuhou Misaki could do at the end of the day when faced with such a choice. One thing that her entire being told her to do with this boy that was known as Kamijou Touma, his pointy hair and all.

She took his hand and shook his hand.

"Shokuhou Misaki. And I am extremely pleased to meet you….Kamijou-sensei."

* * *

><p><strong>[1] I actually noticed that 'fox words' is a term that is only mentioned in OT 1. Of course, it is the previous Touma's reference to pretending to be nice but I guess it is one of those subtle things that tells the difference between current Touma and previous Touma.<strong>

**I hope that you enjoyed this though. In terms of when this was written, this would be around the time when NT 11 was written. But I really hope that you enjoyed it for those that did not read it previously.**

**If you wanted to know what the reason behind the name of this project, it'd probably be because that in this case, any character can make an appearance, regardless of what context they are in or how they are portrayed in the novel or other mediums. In the novels, the Between The Lines aspects is usually reserved for breaks and changes of perspectives and I wanted to show that outside of the world of Index, lives still go on.**

**And how those lives do so is up to you. As this is not related to A Certain Unknown Level 0, I can really let loose, unless of course, you guys request that there be an aspect or character interaction that was mentioned there that you want expanded here. The only reason that I would really decline would be of course if I wanted to use it as a later plot point so I hope that you give me suggestions to use later on. **

**But as for the status on my main project, I'm slowly writing things as we go and I will definitely update by at least February 2015 time. So please hold out until then!**

**And until the next time.**

**And as always,  
>Review if you please<strong>

**And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.**

**I'm on holidays now and in the meantime, while not job searching, you'd be amazed the time on my hands. I have REALLY big hands.**

**But once again, I'll ask the question: Respect ability? Or affection points?**


	2. The Sports Festival

**And here we are once again with this project!**

**To be honest, the first few of these projects are something that you've already read. But at the same time, I hope for those that did not save them still read them and enjoy them as they come along in droves. These sort of things are haphazard and I'll probably think of along the way but a sort of semi-way to tackle how the characters interact with each other before they appear in my main project.**

**But something to note; these one-shots are usually going to be separate to each other, that is to say the events in each are probably going to be non-canon to another one. Unless of course there is a probably convenience in re-using them, it means that I can just keep on using and re-using different characters in different situations. This also means that if you liked a certain interaction and wanted to see it in a different light, then just send me a request be it through review or PM and I'll see what I can do.**

**Usually with my other project there was an aspect of understanding who the focus is, for the most part the 'characters' will be unknown unless you read the chapter. Of course maybe some will have Touma but that is not a rule, after all, this project runs on what you guys want after all! So once again, if you want to see something in here that you think you will enjoy then send it in.**

**But apart from that, I would truly like to thank, once again, my beta-reader PokeRescue18. Without his contribution, for those that wanted to re-read these stories, it would not have been possible. But I suppose we will have to see just how popular this series ends up right? I doubt it will be the same as the other projects but there we go!**

**And I'd also like to thank the reader once again. Whether you just found this, reviewed it or whatever, I want to truly thank you for giving me the chance to express these ideas to you through this medium. Thank you once again.**

**But enough from me.**

**Enjoy.**

**Mr Question Mark**

* * *

><p>Those Who Stand in the Shadows. <em>Entering_the_Light.<em>

Himegami Aisa l-

"Wait. Did we really start this one-shot with 'Himegami Aisa'?!" Kamijou Touma yelled at the narration with an expression of shock and awe as he truly didn't realise that he in turn had destroyed the entire point of starting with that one sentence.

"Himegami! Look, look! It's your….eh? I realise that you're still in a wheelchair but where did you hide that police batooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn?!" Kamijou let out that yell as he convulsed on the ground due to the electricity that surged through the baton and entered his body, twitching in a manner that did not seem safe at all.

"The evil has been purged. Continue o great narrator." Himegami pressed the button the police baton, sending sparks down the shape of it and there were no arguments for safety reasons.

Himegami Aisa looked up the sky above her, sighing slightly as the wind ruffled her long black hair.

The date was September 21st.

It was the third day of the Daihaseisai but even so, the energy that filled the air was so static that one could almost touch it. Parents, students, teachers, Judgment and Anti-Skill ran frantically all around Academy City, different stores, especially the small souvenir stores that Academy City had set up around the Districts being perhaps one of the major attractions.

Whether it be because of the fact that there was so little security, different parties around the world truly wanted to take a hold of the opportunities that the festival created whether they be from rival agencies in the outside world or even magicians that existed in a world that was even further separated from that.

Himegami still felt as though the energy in the air was something that was sucked from others, especially her as she found herself sitting in the wheelchair that the hospital in District 7 had provided her after her encounter with one 'Route Disturb' Oriana Thomson two days ago.

But even though she said that, sitting and doing nothing in the hospital that she was resting in her perhaps made her energy disappear even faster. With nothing to do, endless boredom took a hold and gripped around her tightly as she tried to find something to do, procrastination then taking hold and twisting her mind and will to do something into nothingness.

She truly hated doing nothing, especially when it was _the _Daihaseisai however at that same token, there was nothing that she could have done.

And that was when Kamijou Touma had come to her with an idea just the previous day.

For some reason involving some monster electrical storm that had happened just yesterday where the Windowless Building had been struck by lightning, something that had yet to be explained by the members of Academy City, he had visited the hospital about 'checking his arm' but she did not really understand his reason.

However, at any rate, it was the suggestion that he had given her that let her come towards the location that she was currently at.

Basically it had been (this of course was after Kamijou had joked about her lack of presence and being in a wheelchair meant that she could be a protagonist in a ghost, horror story to which she threw her rubber stress ball at him) that Himegami join one of the events that were open for pairs.

She had not known what he had meant so Kamijou had merely given a quick explanation.

Basically, while the Daihaseisai could be thought as an avenue for espers showing off the powers and in turn becoming walking, talking advertisements for Academy City, it was first and foremost a sports festival. While one might be injured and physically unable to participate in tasks that they normally would have, there were special events for such people; Paralympic events that allowed those that sat in the shadows to enter the light and become a part of those that they looked at on the television.

Unlike the other events, there was no pressure towards competing and earning points for one's school, one's participation was enough to earn points for one's school meaning that even though there might be a winner of the event, there were no losers.

It was perhaps the only event where there was probably no chance of being injured heavily and those that participated with those with the injuries and disabilities were either friends or close relatives that either wanted to have a break or experience an Academy City festival at least once.

She had refused initially, she was merely a letdown towards the school and there was nothing that she could actually contribute properly. If it was an event that meant that points were awarded out of pity, it was something that Himegami did not want. If anything, it would only serve to reinforce her position of isolation and staying in the background.

Even though Fukiyose Seiri, perhaps her best friend within A Certain high School had offered to be her partner for the race, she had still refused. Even though she would a part of the festival, what would change? It would be here next year and Himegami was sure that even next year, her opinion of the matter would not change.

But then Tsukuyomi Komoe had intervened, signing up Himegami Aisa and her partner for a race that she herself did not want to be a part of. Why was it that she had to participate in such a thing that she did not want to?

Given that she was powerless to stop Komoe-sensei from dragging her out of the hospital in her wheelchair and gym uniform, she did not think that there would be any point whatsoever when it came towards competing in the race that she had been signed up for without her permission.

And then she had seen her partner.

"So? Are you ready? Although the race doesn't start for the next few minutes, it's better if we actually get to the starting line head of time."

Kamijou Touma picked himself off the ground and walked around to the back of her wheelchair, pushing her through the field that the two of them found themselves in, a large oval that circulated around and around the stadium that they were in, bleachers and large stands surrounding them as they made their way to the starting line.

Himegami merely watched the other competitors, people that were in the same position as she was in; people in wheelchairs and others that had other disabilities, the blind and those that had a hard time standing up as they tried to get to the same position that Kamijou and Himegami were heading to.

"Was it really a good idea?" Himegami asked that open question without expecting an answer as Kamijou looked over towards those that she was looking at. "Even though I can regain what it was that I lost does that mean that I should participate here even though they probably have something that I haven't even considered in my peaceful life?"

Kamijou continued to walk with Himegami in front of him as he watched the others that were trying to best that they could to reach the starting line, being assisted by their partners and animals that allowed them to move forward.

"I can't really say." remarked Kamijou. "I'm sure that if I were in their shoes, I might have some kind of desire or jealously towards people like you and me who are able to live our lives with whatever it is that they have lost. However at the same time, I'm sure that they have their own personal ideals and judgments that push them forward. And right now, those ideals and will inside them is pushing them towards competing, not for their schools or because it's the Daihaseisai, but because they have been given the chance."

Kamijou stopped and Himegami turned her head and looked towards the boy who was smiling towards her.

"And going easy on them when they want the chance to compete isn't something that we should do Himegami. They wanted to participate with everything that they have. So I think that we should do the same. If we don't we'd be trampling on the wishes of those that you yourself are considering."

Kamijou moved forward as Himegami watched those that she had considered, looking at her own legs and the condition that she found herself in. She found it hard to move without pain but was truly trying to win in the face of their competition the right thing to do? She herself had not considered the fact that there were others that wanted to stand in the sunlight.

Was this her chance to do so?

Was this her opportunity to do something that she was ultimately proud to be doing?

"But why are you here?" asked Himegami. "I thought you wanted to sit out and let Fukiyose do all of the work."

"Ha ha. The past few days for me have been hell. Seriously. I wanted to sit out however Komoe-sensei asked me if I wanted to be your partner for this race. So I said yes." Kamijou stopped at the starting line, sitting down next to Himegami in the sun.

"You said yes? Even though you didn't want to do it yesterday?" asked Himegami.

"Hmm? No, I just thought that you would rather someone else than this misfortune Kamijou-san. But at the same time, I want to make it up to you Himegami. I don't expect you to go along with my selfishness but at the same time, I want to do this at least for you." said Kamijou as he looked at the other competitors line up next to them.

The race was starting soon meaning that the bleachers and stands began to fill, the noise around them increasing however at the same time, Himegami Aisa felt as though the words that Kamijou was saying were louder than the rest of the stadium put together.

Was it because she was listening to him more attentively? Or was it because of the fact that he was saying words that were meant for her and only her?

So Himegami asked only one question.

"Why? Why would you do that for me? Aren't I just…baggage?"

Himegami asked one question towards Kamijou that she had asked only yesterday towards a small nun who had once comforted her in her hospital room. She had received an answer, an answer that had truly soothed her heart however that in itself was only the tip of the comforting iceberg. What would the whole say? What would the person who made her question that say towards her question?

What she didn't expect was an immediate answer.

"Of course not. You're no one's baggage Himegami. You're someone that truly wanted to save someone that you did not know, someone that you will probably never even meet." He pointed towards the British Puritan Cross, a cross shape of a Walking Church that still hung around her neck with his left hand.

"Your ability was Deep Blood. But even so, you wanted to protect those vampires who have their own lives with your own two hands. In that sense, I think that perhaps you are one of the brightest of people Himegami, blinding to a normal high school student like me. And I let you down when I didn't come to you before the night parade started. Even though I promised. Even though you were…"

Kamijou hung his head down for a moment before he moved right in front of Himegami grabbing her by the hands and staring her right in the face.

"So I did this in order to make it up to you Himegami. I don't expect you to think that you'll forgive me for breaking my promise; but at the same time, I want you to enjoy yourself today Himegami. It's because you deserve it. Because you are perhaps the one person today that needs to stand in the sunshine."

Kamijou's words and gaze made Himegami's chest beat faster and the warm touch of his hands made her breathing escalate even further. She wanted to look away and maintain a straight face however felt as though her eyes were fixed towards Kamijou Touma and his presence in front of her.

She wanted them to stay like this for as long as it would last. She wanted to burn this sensation into her mind and make it a part of her in order to truly allow her to never forget this experience.

And then-

It ended.

Kamijou Touma let go of her hands, standing right behind her as if the entire sequence of events that had taken place were merely a chain of events that were something that he had to say towards her.

He probably hadn't thought anything of it however the same could not be said for Himegami. The things that she felt, the feelings that within her heart as she had blessed that one moment were gone and she slowly let her head down as she lamented on one fact.

Although that boy did not know what it was that she was feeling, she had definitely felt it yet that feeling had disappeared. And even though Himegami knew how selfish it was…..

She still felt that it wasn't fair.

A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality as Kamijou pointed towards a location in the bleachers that made her look towards it, her eyes widening as she saw the sight that was in front of her.

"Hi-me-ga-mi! Hi-me-ga-mi!" Numerous people stood in the bleachers, Tsukuyomi Komoe, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Index and Fukiyose Seiri as they cheered from the bleachers, a number of them holding signs above their heads that said numerous things such as 'Aisa for Asia!' and 'Himegami is the Princess of Life!' and another ridiculous one that read 'Moe!' in probably 18 different languages however the two on the field mainly ignored that one as the probable writer was fawning over the sight of tights and girls in gym uniforms.

"What…..are they doing?" asked Himegami as she looked towards the bleachers. She did not understand. She recognised what they were doing and who they were doing it for however at the same time she did not realise that weight of what they were doing.

Why were they there? In fact, who were they cheering for? She knew the answer to both questions however hearing them from herself in terms of an answer did not serve towards answering the question fully.

She had been in the hospital this whole time. She had silently been sitting in the room where there had been no one but herself so there was no need to go this far. There was no need whatsoever. Yet…yet….yet!

"They're here for you obviously. There's no way that we would abandon a classmate and friend. I thought that you knew that. You might be a transfer student but it's like you were here the whole time."

"…" Himegami was silent as she looked towards the crowd, at the cheery movements and their waves as some of them noticed that she was looking at them. She watched as some of them tried to make a human pyramid with Komoe-sensei and Index on the top before security asked them to stop which they also had a break up a brawl between Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado that Fukiyose seemed eager to break up.

Those were classmates and her precious friends. They were those that she could most likely count on at the end of the day when things had not gone her way or failed her when she was down. And perhaps the person that was strongest in that regard was-

"Hmm? If you want to smile you need to do so more openly." Himegami slightly turned towards Kamijou as he smiled towards her. She frowned at his remark and he pointed towards his own lips.

"You smile too softly. You do so with only a small curve. I'd like to see you smile just once Himegami. Smile purely. I'm sure you'd gain a lot of points because of that. In fact it would add to your personality."

"Oh hohohoho. So are you saying that I am someone without presence?"

"Ah…..Himegami-san? Please come out of that depressive state that you have entered. L-Look the race is about to start! Hmm? But where are these guys?"

Kamijou and Himegami turned towards the space that was to their left, an empty spot between them and the contestant next to them. As it was a Paralympic event, it was a simple race that involved 5 laps around the stadium, nothing too strenuous or competitive which was just perfect given the competitors.

It was nothing special and easy points however the hearts and contribution of those that were not usually the ones that entered these types of contests was perhaps the brightest thing that could be seen in this one moment.

Still at the same time, the space next to them made both Himegami and Kamijou feel somewhat bad for the person that was supposed to be there. The fact that they had not made it, for whatever reasons, when they had openly wished to participate hardened both of their hearts in order to give it their all in a form of respect to those that could not usually compete.

The organiser of the event stood at the front and explained the rules towards those that were at the starting line, many of the partners that the participants had attained explaining it those that could not hear.

As already noted, Kamijou still felt that the rules put him and Himegami at a disadvantage. Although it was just a simple race, there was a focus upon those that were disadvantaged doing the best that they could given the circumstances, and as a result, esper powers were banned against the competitors.

Their partners however were a different issue. As they were merely supporting and only there as either moral support or to assist those that were disabled, esper powers were allowed to be used against the partners only, given a number of factors were met.

For instance, one could not attack a partner of a blind contestant that was leading them around nor could they attack someone who was helping someone with muscular dystrophy in a wheelchair. Also, those that could attack, even if they were disabled, were allowed to and Kamijou was one of the ones that was forced to put up his hand as being branded a 'target'.

"Honestly though." Complained Kamijou as he watched the others that were deemed as targets as well as other competitors, eyeing those that could be attacked. "I hope that they don't hit you though Himegami. Although I have only one right hand, I can't hit two things at once so it'll be hard trying to protect myself when you're the priority."

"Don't worry. As long as we get through it, that's all that matters."

Whether Himegami said that in order to give Kamijou the idea that she wanted this race over with or whether she truly wanted to show her respect towards those that were participating was unknown however the remark that she gave only resulted in Kamijou placing his hand on her head.

"Yeah. Let's do our best. Even if we have to face one of the strongest espers, we'll still make it through this race!"

Himegami said nothing as she recalled the touch of his hand as Kamijou gripped the handles of the wheelchair tighter, tensing his entire body as Himegami reached her hands for the wheels of her wheelchair.

They both were ready for this. They were surely going to make it through this race and prove, not only to themselves but also to those around them that the will that they held was just as strong as them. They would do this as a team, together as they left the darkness that side characters were forced to embrace.

They were the protagonists now.

And Himegami Aisa was going to make sure that she did her best to fit the role.

"Ready….."

She tensed her hands. She had always felt, ever since she had seen her family perish in front of her eyes that she would be alone. She had survived and she had truly thought that no one else could save her in her time of need. That had been the previous Himegami Aisa.

But then she had died. She had died in the arms of the boy that was standing over her like a guardian angel and those arms had held her tightly as it ripped the death from her and saved her. It had been this boy that allowed her this race. Even though she felt as though her shy personality was something that make her weak in the eyes of many with stronger personalities, she had set that aside just for now.

Because she has ascended and was ready to grip the role as a protagonist.

"Set…"

She leaned forward, her bangs covering her vision slightly but she did not care. The exhilaration of a start that had yet to happen filled her, slowly coursing through her body as-

"WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"

"Ah? Who's that? Oh, right the final contestant. I was told that you were being late so I hope that all rules were explained to you."

"Yeah, they were, they were. I'm only here for the points anyway."

A gagging sound came from Kamijou Touma's throat as he heard the voice, Himegami finding that it sounded somewhat familiar, although more livelier than when she had heard it before. Was this the contestant that was filling the space next to them? If so, why were they so late? And who were-

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What the hell are you doing here you idiot!?" Misaka Mikoto yelled out towards the boy with a look that was both concern and rage as she turned to look at the boy's right arm.

"Nooooooooooooooooo! Even though I said to face one of the strongest espers, I was joking dammit! I have no intention of racing with this overly competitive tsundere!" Kamijou yelled and Himegami turned to see the uniform of the Tokiwadai Middle School next to her.

Her eyes went wide as she recognised the person that was standing, she had met her on August 20th however the girl herself showed no sign of recognising Himegami. Was she really that invisible?

The other girl, the one that was racing, was in a wheelchair must more fancy that the one Himegami was in. Her twintails and uniform, as well as a Judgment armband gave her the impression that she had suddenly been asked to compete in this race however at the same time, held an expression of pure contempt as she looked towards Kamijou.

"Onee-sama. Why are we here with this ape!?" Shirai Kuroko spat out those words towards Kamijou and he merely hung his head as he looked towards the blue sky.

"Hahhhhhhhhhhh…" Kamijou sighed. "The sky is so blue yet my future is so dark. Why are you guys even here anyway!? This is Himegami's one-shot! H-Himegami? How is it my fault that Misaka and Shirai came here? And seriously! Where were you hiding that police batoooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn?!"

Even though it could not match Mikoto's output in terms of electricity, Kamijou still felt as though there was strength behind the voltage that was unleashed in the baton that was unlike what he had experienced with Mikoto as he rolled on the floor, sparks flying off him.

"A-Anyway….." The announcer said that remark despite the fact that Kamijou was clearly not ready, holding up the cap gun in order to start the race, an action that made Kamijou stand up, dirt and dust on his uniform as he reached for Himegami's handlebars.

"Ready…."

"So, are you here to earn more points for the penalty game too?" asked Mikoto with a frown on her face, resulting in Shirai, Kamijou and Himegami to turn towards her.

Her classmate's expression of horror in her face regarding the topic was evidently the reason why she had turned however it was Kamijou and Himegami's joint thought that was different.

The middle school student, no, this side character was merely here for the convenient points. While it was possible that she was racing with her friend, she was not racing with the same will in her heart that the high school students had within them.

And that was what she lacked in order to allow her greatness in this event.

There was a winner, however there were no losers. But taking things only for the points was not the way to complete this race. It was holding in high regard the will to be a part of something greater, a part of the Daihaseisai and to leave the abyss of ignorance and departure from interacting with others. Himegami Aisa had understood that in the moments before she had started racing but even so, she felt that this understanding within her gave her the will and ability to do what she could not have done before.

Even if it was small, she would participate to her fullest. Even if people would look at her and think that it was out of character, she would be brave and overcome her shyness in order to show her respect.

These people were owed that much.

She turned her head towards Kamijou and he nodded towards her, silent words filling their gazes as they turned back towards the track that they had to run 5 laps around.

"Are you going to-" asked Himegami to which Kamijou gripped the handlebars, the will and strength that filled them passing through and entering the body of Himegami Aisa. She was prepared. As was the person that she could be glad to call her partner in this race.

Together they would fight the evil that was necessary and ensure that the needed respect was given.

"Yeah. Sorry Himegami but I seriously think they'll be more to this race than I think. I'll try and be done as soon as possible before I can come back to you. Sorry."

"No….it needs to be done."

"Ready….."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" asked Mikoto as she turned towards the high school students before they both turned towards her and Shirai.

"Set…"

These people were only here for the points and had not realised the basic foundation of the race itself. Allowing them to race for that reason meant that there would possibly be a winner that only wanted to win. While there were other reasons that they had towards racing, the one thing that had stood out had been that one question from the middle schooler.

A question that Himegami could not stand towards those that had worked hard in order to reach this stage.

She looked towards the bleachers and her friends, her fellow comrades as they cheered.

Yes. She was sure that she was making the right decision within her. No, the right decision to make sure that she could allow those whose feelings she understood to sit in the light.

She reached for her wheels of her wheelchair, tensing her body, a feeling unlike one that she had ever felt before filling her.

_This was surely what it must feel like._

That one thought she had took a hold of her and coursed through her entire being.

_This is….what it feels to be a protagonist!_

"Go!" The cap gun went off and Himegami moved forward _without her partner assisting her to do so_. However that was the silent plan that they had come up with. This was her race that she understood. And for those that did not understand-

"I'm not here for points! I'm here to unleash my potential as grand commander Kamijou! Take this! Sorry in advanceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Kamijou from behind her, kicked up a large amount of dust with his feet and sprayed it into the faces of both Mikoto and Shirai, their expressions shocked before most of it landed on Mikoto, with some particles entering Shirai's face. They coughed violently before Kamijou ran towards Mikoto, placing one leg between hers and causing her to fall to the ground where she landed without even having the chance to take a breath.

She continued to cough however heard one voice that came from above her.

"You're not much of a Level 5 if that was all it took!"

That one statement caused Mikoto's rational to crumble within an instant.

"Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Sparks flew from her bangs and went in all directions close to her however none of them reached their target as said target held his right hand in front of him with a proud expression on his face.

"You want to settle things right here?! I'm up for thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt!"

"E-Eh? I knew it would work to get you away from the race but this is just too effectiveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Such misfortuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeee!"

Kamijou broke into a run, away from the field a Mikoto immediately gave chase, sparks flying from her bangs as she chased like a predator after her prey. But even so, she was not alone.

"H-How dare you lay your hands on my Onee-sama you ape! That is my role and my role solely! Come back and here and face your punishment!"

Shirai entered the fray, metal needles filling her hands as she too gave chase, the screams of the boy that had taken the bullet slowly leaving the air as he escaped from the stadium while being hunted like a wanted man.

Himegami Aisa was halfway through the first lap when the screams had left altogether. Her hands hurt and she could tell that if things would continue to go like this, she would definitely get some blisters on her hands however even so she did not care. She was in fourth position, knocking those that were next to her with her police baton lightly in order to prevent them from advancing yet by that same token, others had taken a hold of other loopholes, numerous esper powers being flung towards her wheelchair, not hitting her directly.

Himegami tried to divert herself and get out of the way however the only way to do so effectively was to painfully stop the wheelchair and spin the wheels in the opposite direction which would thus set her back another position.

However the position did not matter. She could give it her all and that was all that mattered, for her and surely for those that were also participating.

Numerous partners had been taken out by end of the first lap, a lap to which Himegami was in 6th place out of the 19 participants, but even so her determination did not stop merely because she was slowly moving forward, her pace slowing because of pain in her arms but the will and need to continue made her move forward.

Sweat began to cover her body as she moved forward, Deep Blood having to manipulate her police baton between the legs of one of the partners of another participants so that they fell, leaving the participant racing forward as they used their esper power to increase the durability of their arm muscles in order to race ahead of Himegami.

She grit her teeth as some ball of light sailed over her and hit another one of the partners to her immediate right, sending them flying through the air, a slight shockwave hitting Himegami's wheelchair and turning it on its left wheel however she used her entire body, something that was begging her to stop, to slam down the wheel to which she stopped and spun out of control.

Still, she turned, using her arms to forcibly push the wheelchair in its needed correct position, moving forward with needed precision before she reached the end of her second lap, in 3rd place.

Her pace was slowing however not significantly, the need to race and prove that she could do something that was useful, whether it be to herself filling her gut. The sunlight beat against her neck, something that she noticed more than before and the cheers from the crowd entered her ears, something that further encouraged her to move.

She looked up, towards one of the blimps that were filming the race, seeing that coming behind her was another esper that was trying to take hold of the loopholes in the system, attacking the wheel of her wheelchair once again. The announcer was saying something about a fight that was happening between fallen partners and the shouts from her classmates immediately made her tense.

A faint, horrific memory filled her as she moved her wheelchair forward, a memory of when the vampires had come. Their movements of precision and the action of hunting meant one thing; when it came towards a moving target, one had to anticipate where they would move. Himegami looked up at the blimp, noticing the lanes around her before she turned her wheelchair to the side, going into the lane to the left, one that she knew would be empty.

A ray of energy passed right through the spot she had once been in, heading off into the distance where it clipped another partner of one of the participants, causing said partner to be blown through the air before he landed on the ground, a soft landing due to the water manipulation power that he had.

Himegami entered her lane once more, however she had already been passed once, the water manipulation esper firing a string of water towards the person that had attacked Himegami in the first place, a move that meant that behind Himegami a 'line' formed due to the water that was being thrust towards the partner.

She slightly paled as she realised that perhaps this competition was more competitive than both her and Kamijou had initially anticipated however this was Academy City's Daihaseisai. She doubted that it would be anything else without the use of esper powers left, right and centre.

She continued her trek, finally managing to get her third lap over and done with, albeit in 8th place.

Her fourth lap was perhaps her most difficult, mainly because of the fact that her arms were burning and an aching like she couldn't believe filling her arms and body. Given her injuries that she had received, courtesy of Oriana, there was probably no way that she should have continued however the energy within her pushed her forward, an energy that Himegami knew herself would probably end at the end of the race.

Still, continuing to push forward and using the momentum that she had gathered to allow her arms to rest for a moment she managed to continue however questions filled her mind as she passed by the fallen esper partners that surrounded her. As a result, only those that had been deemed 'not targets' were still standing but even then they were limping rather heavily despite the fact that they had been protected under the rules.

Still, as Himegami was passed once again, she saw the escalation and joy in the face of someone that she was sure was blind. She saw the sweat covering the face of a deaf esper and the yells of those with other disabilities to go faster to their partners or push themselves further than what should have been.

Who were they trying to prove themselves to? Who were they trying to impress with their actions? Who were they trying to overcome?

Himegami Aisa knew the answer as soon as the questions came to her; it was obvious. They were trying to prove to themselves that they were the same as those with powers, the same as those that had sight, hearing or movement in their limbs. They were trying to prove to themselves that they were the same as those that had everything that they did not.

Perhaps it was because Himegami had once lost everything that she realised that fact, pushing herself even harder. Was that to prove to herself that she could do it? That she could truly ascend and place herself in the crowd that she felt she could not ever reach with her own two hands?

She had failed to save anyone so could she truly accept that same world that others could join in as freely as they could?

Could she truly prove to herself that she was more than simply Himegami Aisa, 'Deep Blood'? Was she nothing more than a killing machine?

She truly wanted to be more than that. But could she really?

She felt her pace slow and as a result, she passed through the fourth lap, ending at a mere 12th place as shouts entered her vision and her arms burned. She could not feel the fingers on her own hands and she looked down at them, seeing that small droplets of her blood that covered her hands that fell to the ground.

She paused as she looked at them, realising one thing about them. If those had been the injuries that she had sustained then what about the others?

She did not even have to check; she merely looked at the ground around her, small droplets of red covering some of the track in front of her.

These people….they were pushing themselves just as hard as she was, for perhaps the same reason in their hearts as they tried to achieve something within themselves that they could look proud towards.

And she had stopped moving, that same energy still coursing through her. She had made a promise within herself in order to prove to herself that there was still a chance for her to ascend.

And there was no way that she was going to let things stop here.

She gripped the wheel of her wheelchair and tried to push forward however she would not move. Stunned, she looked down at the wheel, noticing however the entire metal had completely warped. She did not know how it had happened however the fact of the matter was that there was no way that she could move, given her current state.

Himegami Aisa had stopped.

"Ah."

She felt her mind go blank as she looked at the wheel and the fact that she was not going anywhere. She had started this race because she had truly wanted to attain something that she had thought was out of her grasp. She had experienced a thrill that she had never experienced before and it had been lost within an instant.

Another participant passed her and she let her arms drop towards the side, her heavy breathing filling the air as she looked up towards the sky and the faint breeze that tickled her skin and made her even more aware of the cut that was on her hand.

What had she expected?

"So….I truly am a girl that can only go unnoticed after all."

She let out those words of defeat and she slumped in her wheelchair, the sounds of shouting slowly getting softer and softer in her ears as she closed her eyes, letting her fatigue wash over her in a wave that was never ending…..

"*pant**pant**pant* You *pant* really think so? You still have a role to complete *pant* Himegami."

Hiemgami's eyes shot open as she turned around in her wheelchair, seeing the sweaty form of Kamijou Touma standing behind her, things that looked like twigs, leaves and some blood covering his body. He walked up to her and gripped her handlebars without hesitation as he grinned as she looked at her.

"You still have a race to finish and I have a promise to keep. And I'll be damned if I'm going to allow Himegami Aisa to lose her time in the limelight!"

Kamijou pushed forward however the warped wheel of the wheelchair immediately made him trip on his own feet as he tried to push an immovable object, throwing the boy forward where he slammed onto the ground in a cloud of dust.

Himegami merely have a sigh towards the boy.

"There's nothing you can do. We have both stopped. The sunshine was perhaps a bit too blinding for someone like me this time." Her hollow words filled Kamijou's ears as he lay on the ground and there was the sound of dirt moving as Kamijou clenched his right fist, dirt collecting in his grasp.

He slowly stood up, Himegami watching the boy however she could not see his expression on his face, even where she was sitting.

"Himegami…where were you injured exactly? Right now where does it hurt?" he asked her to which her mind went blank.

What….was he asking? And why did it matter anyway?

She did not know however she had no intention of not answering the boy.

"My entire body. My chest feels rather constrained but I don't really think I can really move."

Kamijou was silent for a moment as another contestant passed them however he merely gave a remark that completely threw her off guard.

"_Then this makes things difficult_. So sorry!"

Before Himegami could even say anything, Kamijou reached for the back of her neck with his hand, using his other hand to reach for underneath her knees as he lifted her up, the resulting position meaning that Himegami was lifted up like a newly wedded bride.

Her face turned red as she stammered words that had no meaning as she looked towards Kamijou, whose own cheeks were flushed red from embarrassment as well however his gaze towards the track that they had yet to complete.

"We both wanted to do something in order to satisfy something within ourselves Himegami. And you made it this far! So I'm not merely going to let you sit back when you have almost reached that stage that you wanted to!"

Kamijou kicked off the ground, dust spraying underneath his feet as he moved, pressing Himegami closer to his chest in order to prevent her from moving too much within his arms and as a result, adding additional pressure to her wounds.

Himegami's went even redder at the action and her heart beat faster however even so, the action itself and the fact that she found herself in a position she would never have dreamed of as they continued through the race.

And as they crossed the finish line, Himegami Aisa knew one thing.

It had been worth it. Even though it was a small thing, Himegami was both sure and glad about one thing.

That this was her moment as a protagonist and she would never take it back for anything in the world.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you were disqualified you goddamn idiot! Did you even read the rules?! You may have never have entered in the first place!"<p>

Fukiyose Seiri yelled towards Kamijou Touma as he sat seiza style with numerous bruises on his face due to the punishment that Fukiyose had given him due to the fact that he had touched Himegami in the way that he had.

Of course, given the fact that Kamijou had left the arena and then directly assisted towards Himegami's crossing the line without her doing anything, they had of course been disqualified. The Tokiwadai duo had as well however since they had never participated in the first place, that was a given.

As for Himegami, as she sat in the replacement wheelchair, her gaze looked towards the sun in the sky and the beating heat that came down.

This had been her day in the sun. She had felt an energy that she had never felt before course through her and it had given her an experience that she was sure that she could only find in Academy City.

Footsteps came towards her and she turned, seeing Kamijou scratching his head as he laughed sheepishly, placing himself on the ground next to Himegami.

"Well, sorry about that. We ended up not really doing anything. But did you get the point of entering in the race?"

"….Yes. There was something more than the points. I…realise that now." She turned towards the boy that was next to her and did something that came naturally towards her given that moment.

She smiled.

Kamijou blinked once at the expression that Himegami Aisa was giving, the small curling of the lips before he returned it, the two of them leaning back and feeling the sun on their faces. They both knew that something had been gained in the race that the Daihaseisai, even though they had been disqualified.

Himegami Aisa had managed to grab something that she could not have before. She had a chance and she had grabbed it with full force, and it had left Himegami with an impression that she was sure would not fade.

She had been given a role as a protagonist with that boy that had once saved her life.

She had seized that role that played it until the curtain had lowered.

However she still smiled. Himegami Aisa felt truly glad in the situation that she was in, still feeling a beating of her heart from that energy that had passed into her from that boy.

Because, just like an illusion, the shadows had parted and she had experienced the light on her face.

She might return to the position that she had once held however even so, she had managed to hold onto something small for a fraction of time.

And there was nothing wrong with that.

But the stage had yet to be emptied. The two players had yet to leave and part ways, only to recommence at a later date. She still had that small light dancing in the air that she could grasp in order to play that role again, a small light that was right next to her.

And that was why she smiled.

Because as long as that light was there, she realised…

She could always relive the role as a protagonist.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is! If you notice that the chapter name is something that does not reveal the characters involved but rather the 'story' that revolves around the nature of the one-shot I felt as though it was more appropriate. After all, these are the stories of those in the ToAru universe and I really just wanted to capture what it might be around rather than the characters that involved them.<strong>

**Anyone can contribute to this though which is what makes this project rather fun, which also allows me to perhaps come up with points for the characters that I write about in my main project. But that is enough from me for now.**

**After all, I truly don't want to write off Himegami as a protagonist! I think she deserved the lime light in this situation and to that extent, I really believe that I really captured the 'Friendship' (to Touma anyway) aspect of those characters that were introduced so long ago in OT 2 albeit the fact that one of them has faded into the background somewhat.**

**So I truly hoped that you enjoyed this and look forward to the next chapter.**

**And as always,  
>Review if you please.<strong>

**And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.**

**Many of you know what comes next though right?**


	3. The Endless Hell - World FSN

**Another one-shot right here!**

**This was perhaps one of the longer one and for obvious reasons. After all, NT 9 really sort of created a 'gap' for Touma's hell that I sort of tried to fill in this. So with the attempt to do so, I tried to create this sort of project, using the characters from a variety of sources. But to be honest, the fight scene in this short was perhaps one of the hardest simply because of the nature of Othinus.**

**I always find it heard to extend fights when the character can literally rip you to pieces in a second so I really had to think around that point and try to create a situation where Touma might truly 'crack'. Of course this is not a physical battle but rather a mental one, the one that Othinus planned the entire time.**

**Yet for now, I think that if this were to be a proper project, then this would definitely be the Part 2 of the Prologue, simply because of the 'universe' that it is set in and the main character that that is present here. Although I do hope that these one-shots don't overdo it in length.**

**Simply enjoy and await the next update. I don't want to let you guys down after all!**

**I'd also to thank my beta reader PokeRescue18 for his contribution. After all with 3 chapters in a few days, I really think that I overworked him so I truly want to thank him for putting up with this sort of unreasonable demand for me when I didn't really check with him when I first posted these. So thank you very much.**

**And thank you for those that have actually attempted to board this slow project. At some extent, while there are readers, your enjoyment of the project cannot be determined through simply numbers on a page. So for those that have managed to take things this far for me, I really want to thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Type-Moon or anything that is connected with such. Nor do I own To Aru Majutsu No Index. I am a mere amateur fanfiction writer so either ignore this status update or continue reading the small crossover between Fate/Stay Night and To Aru Majutsu No Index. Nor do I own any of the characters that are mentioned in the 'references'. You'll see what I mean. Although even now, no one has actually gotten all of them right...**

**So enjoy and until the next time we meet.**

**Mr Question Mark.**

* * *

><p>Prologue - Part 2: Placement of an Outsider. <em>Those_Who_Are_Doomed_to_Lose<em>

"…Ah!?"

Kamijou awoke.

Yet the moment he did, a chill ran up his spine, covering his entire body for a number of reasons. It threatened his entire mind and caused his entire perception of what was going on around him to distort terribly.

He knew exactly what was happening to him. He had been here numerous times, time and time again that he had lost count and could not remember them all but he knew that this position was one that he had been in countless times before.

He felt it within him; the sensation of something slowly eating away at his heart time and time again, slowly chipping away at its form until nothing would remain.

Kamijou Touma knew exactly the reason why this was the case.

After all, he had challenged Magic God Othinus, someone that had created world upon world in order to truly break down Kamijou's willpower and mentality to a state where the smallest push would cause Kamijou to fall into an endless abyss of despair and pain.

Not that it had already arrived.

And this was just one of the many worlds that she had created in order to crush him, one of the reasons why that chill ran up his spine, there being three main reasons for such as he lay on the ground.

He swallowed as an unpleasant sweat ran down his body as he recalled exactly what had happened to him before, in the previous world before everything had been 'reset'. He had died. Not metaphorically or mentally but truly had his heart stop beating and everything about him that truly made up the sensation of 'life' ripped from him.

Because in the last world, Othinus had watched on _as she slowly dunked him into liquid nitrogen, shattering each of his limbs in front of him save for his right hand_.

He had watched as his left hand shattered, frozen pieces of flesh flying in all directions, he had watched as his torso and lower body broke apart like a practical joke, Othinus having increased the sensation of pain within him as he had screamed endlessly as he felt each of his body parts break apart.

Yet he had refused to budge, refused to give into the fact that Othinus was going to win. He had to take back the world that she had destroyed, the world where those that he wanted to be with remained.

Index, Misaka Mikoto, Leivinia Birdway and Lessar.

He had left them all there, at Sargasso, and he was going to take it back no matter what the cost to his mind or body.

The second reason though that sent a chill up his spine was perhaps even more chilling than the memory of his body literally being destroyed.

He could not move.

He tried to move his head from the position that it was in however his body did not respond, the only thing moving being his eyelids, chest as it moved up and down with his breathing and his right hand, something that twitched and clenched as he lay on the ground in the unknown street that he was on.

He tried to move his body from where it was lying in order to try and escape the situation that he was in but it was no use, the third reason as to the chill up his spine revealing itself with a sweet voice that resounded through the empty night in the unknown location, the only illuminating being street lights that caught the being.

"Now, now, that's not going to work."

Magic God Othinus, the villain of the world, sat on top of Kamijou's belly, rising and falling with every breath he took, the lance Gungnir folded over her lap as she sat cross legged while looking at Kamijou with her green, left eye. Her right eye, covered with an eye patch, merely hung in the air as if watching him even though Kamijou knew that there was nothing behind it.

But still, one thought entered his mind as he lay on the ground, unable to move his body apart from his right hand.

"OTHINUS!" Kamijou yelled at the top of his voice, moving his hand in order to try to touch the lance however the right hand would barely even rise, only moving from side to side in a pitiful motion, representative of the struggle that he had made against the God all this time.

Othinus though merely sighed, pointing the lance's tip towards Kamijou's throat, the cold metal piercing his skin slightly as it led to a drop of blood rolling down his neck where he lay as the lance pierced his skin.

"I said that's not going to work. After all, _I've removed all the muscles in your body so if you don't listen your heart will stop soon_."

Othinus's words struck Kamijou right in the heart as he processed what it was that she was saying, coming up with only one response towards her remark.

"Wh…..at?"

"Don't think that these things aren't above me human. I can't remove the ones in your hand for obvious reasons but I am here to tell you only one thing. Killing you time and time again has grown somewhat tedious. In fact, the only thing I'm sure I've accomplished is put you on the path of a masochist. So, I'm doing something different this time. You'll definitely break from this."

She gave an angelic smile however it only added towards the tension that Kamijou had in the situation. He knew that there was no way that things would be over just because of a few hundred deaths. He knew that there was no way that Othinus had revealed her hand yet, even though she had used around 500 decks of cards.

If anything, to her, this was merely the opening act.

She had shown him a world where he was deemed as a villain and a world where he was merely replaced with all the actions in his life being removed and placed within someone else. But how many worlds had he visited from those first two? He had no idea however even so Kamijou was sure of one thing.

She hadn't even remotely begun to get serious and no matter how many times Kamijou saw new worlds or that black labyrinth, he knew that fighting a god was simply impossible as a human.

However, he wanted his world back. He wanted to save everyone that had been so easily killed as Othinus had destroyed it. He wanted to maintain the smiles on the faces that he knew. He wanted to simply return the smiles to their faces!

And that meant that he simply had to defeat this one god.

No matter what it took or damage he received, Kamijou Touma would never give up in that regard. Not when the source of all her power was literally right in front of him!

"Are you listening? Because I'm allowing you one thing. I'm giving you the chance to show off. Surprise me."

"What are you talk…" His jaw suddenly went slack without him even knowing the cause, Othinus merely shaking her head as she realised what it was that was happening to Kamijou.

"I told you didn't I? _I've removed all the muscles in your body_. That's your jaw muscles gone. There's really only one major organ apart from your heart left so pay attention. After all, this is how you're going to die here and you will finally break mentally. Or simply just break. Whichever way you want."

Kamijou listened however felt that it was getting harder and harder to breath, the extra weight that Othinus was providing him meaning that there was no way that it was easy as he knew his lungs would soon stop altogether. He wanted to call her a heavy bitch however felt that he would earn a couple of thousand deaths extra for that so he refrained from doing so.

Not to mention that his jaw could not move.

"But here's the gist of it. Soon, in this world I have granted you, I am going to kill four people. In fact I will give you names in order to make it easier. So do what you do best. Ready?"

Othinus asked her question even though Kamijou could not answer however questions filled his mind. What….the hell was she doing? There was a hint of familiarity towards what she was doing, as if she had tried this before now with a new twist in order to break him however the only thing that he noted was one thing.

Four people were going to die.

Othinus was not joking. She created people like this and then dealt with them easily. These people and their personalities were not real, their entire being was a creation of this Magic God so she could deal with them as she liked, like an artist destroying his works as they were 'failed'.

But these were people. These were actual people and even though they had been created by Othinus, they were merely innocents. They had nothing to do with this battle between them so-!

"Here we go. Pay attention. Emiya Shirou."

Kamijou paled as he felt his lungs fail in that one moment however even so, he wanted Othinus to shut up, to shut her mouth. The moment she spoke their names, no matter who they were, they were a target that Othinus was not merely going to kill. She was simply going to pass over their dead bodies as the life was ripped from their bodies without ceremony.

She was the leader of GREMLIN and the Magic God on top of that. Nothing could stop her from doing what she wanted but even so, Kamijou wanted her to shut up. Even if they weren't real, they were people with lives and personalities, even if they were implanted through changing one's 'point of view'. And these people had nothing to do with-

"Saber."

Kamijou did not know these people. In fact it was questionable whether they were people in the world that he knew or merely creations that Othinus chose to destroy on a whim as she created a new one. But even so, that did not change the fact that these people were in danger and it was all his fault.

At what point had Othinus decided she was going to kill these innocents? When had the idea popped into her head that she would kill others?

And then it hit him.

"Tohsaka Rin."

Was…this the way that she was going to destroy him? Was she going to kill innocents around him as he was powerless to do anything? Was she going to bring their lifeless bodies in front of him and mock him for doing nothing as he slowly died?

She had not done that for people that he had known yet, as his imagination took hold, going from scene to scene for possible ways that Othinus would kill those that were close to him now that she had chosen normal innocents to kill.

Index dying from starvation.

Misaka Mikoto exploding due to an overload of her power.

Accelerator losing control of his power and 'reflecting' his own body until it ripped him apart.

Hamazura Shiage losing simply because he was a 'Level 0'.

Was it going to start here? Was another form of hell going to start here as Othinus slaughtered innocents?!

He wanted to breath heavily however found that his lungs would not allow him, his face going white as it was devoid of air and Othinus let out the last word, Kamijou cursing himself for not being able to stop her.

"Archer."

She immediately disappeared off Kamijou's stomach and movement came towards him, Kamijou suddenly sitting up and grabbing his chest, breathing in and out as wonderful oxygen entered his lungs and allowed him to breath. He could move!

….He….could…..move?

He placed his hands on his heart, looking around frantically for the sight of the Magic God that had disappeared however found no one, frowning at the implication of what was happening.

What the hell was going on? Why would she tell him that she was going to kill someone, only to let him loose in order to attack the world that she had created? He stood up however his legs failed him, shaking.

He didn't know whether this was the repercussion of having his legs destroyed the world previous however at the same time, he felt as though the stress of the ordeal that had yet to end was surely going to hit him soon.

But that had no connection towards the events that were going to pass soon. People were going to die and Othinus was going to kill them. That only meant one thing that Kamijou had to do as the opposing force that had managed to make it this far, fighting her every will and wish that she had ever wanted.

He had to save them.

He had to save those people.

It did not matter whether or not he knew them or whether they were merely puppets or people with their 'points of view' changed. There was no reason for him to abandon them even in this world and thus Kamijou Touma refused to do so. As long as he maintained that…..there was no reason for him to break.

He got onto his knees and stood up, maintaining his balance as he slowly walked towards the nearest street light, the illumination that it was giving in the dark providing the only thing that allowed Kamijou to see down the street that he was on.

But where was he anyway?

Othinus created endless worlds and places however even so, Kamijou had begun to notice the small instances where nothing had truly changed. It was only a guess however the only way to ensure that he was right was to endure this hell for a bit longer in order to get the information that he needed in order to truly analyse Othinus's magic…..and then to defeat her.

And the one thing that he noticed could only be classified as 'accents'. Just as Othinus had told him in the first world that the 'point of view' surrounding him had changed, Othinus had managed to change different 'points of view' by accenting different things and aspects of the world that he lived in.

He had no idea how she was doing it however he had definitely seen it before. All that was needed was to search the memory of-

"Ghhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kamijou let out a grunt of pain as he held his head, falling to his knees next to the street light as he breathed heavily, terms, names, places and even faces coming in a massive onslaught towards him as he remembered the worlds that Othinus had created that had allowed him to form that very opinion about what it was that she was doing.

There had been a Black Swordsman and a girl named Asuna.

He had failed to save them and they had died.

There had been a boy named Hyoudou in a world filled with angels and demons.

They had all died at the hands of Othinus.

There had been a strange world filled with familiars and a team pair of Hiraga and Louise.

They had all perished the moment that Othinus had decided to burn the world.

There were vampires and some organisation called Hellsing, alchemists and boys in metal bodies, massive metal objects and an exchange student battling them, a girl who had the power to become a god and the human that was reluctantly forced to control her, a boy detective who had been shrunk trying to solve an impossible murder, spirits and a boy whose family ran an alcohol business with those spirits living with him, ninjas in a world that should have gone by, magical girls and witches, a zombie and his necromancer freeloader, time travelling microwaves, death gods and books, a world filled with the strongest man in a butler uniform, dungeons and a boy following a god of poverty, a loner with a quest to find a genuine connection in his world and thousands of other worlds.

Kamijou went through each of them in his head, faces, names and terms flashing by in an onslaught that never seemed to end before it did.

And there was silence.

There was a still silence as Kamijou let his head fall down to the ground, the blackness of the night seeming ever darker than Kamijou remembered. It pulled him in as the remembrance of those that he had failed filled with regret and disbelief.

He….he had truly forgotten all of them. In the chain of the worlds that had come one after another, he had truly forgotten those worlds and those that he said that he would protect. Those that he had failed to do so.

"Ah."

He had managed to do so for the shortest time but with a mere wave of her hand or something even less than that, Othinus had managed to steal all that away in the blink of an eye, leaving only Kamijou remaining after the dust had cleared and the black labyrinth had disappeared once more, replaced with another hell. But even so, Kamijou still hung onto the faces of those that were long gone, the faces of those that he had left because he himself had survived.

Those people were not real and Othinus had destroyed them. But Kamijou had managed to save them once, before the entire premise; the illusion of salvation had been destroyed. He had managed to do so but even then, that had all been ripped away.

A thought came into Kamijou's mind, a dangerous thought that he was sure that he had had before but had never acted on it until now. He had seen things in regards to this thought however had only thought of it as nothing more than a mere distortion of the world that Othinus had created for her own self-satisfaction of seeing Kamijou writhe around in nothing more than pain.

But even so, Kamijou had to know.

He had to make sure.

With trembling hands, he reached for his back pocket where he knew his phone was bringing it out and thankful that he was getting both reception and an Internet signal. That was all that he needed in the end. He opened up a browser and typed in the characters that he needed, each character that he was pressing slowly to appear than the others.

学園都市

Academy City.

His trembling hands resulted in him dropping the cell phone, the screen bending slightly as Kamijou slowly reached for it, the screen facing away from him. All he needed was to have one look. One look was all that was needed in order for Kamijou to determine what it was that he needed to know.

The screen turned to face him, the glow meaning that Kamijou could see everything that he needed.

Those four words seemed to chip away at his heart more than anything else.

_No search results found._

"Ah."

Kamijou's mind went blank as he considered the sight in front of him. What had he been fighting for? A pointless world where no matter what he did, something would always be crushed? A pointless world where no matter what happened, someone would be able to kill everyone that lived in it? A pointless world where those that he cared for and those that he did not know would be killed without him being able to save them?

Did he want a world like that?

No….

Was that the world that he had always been living in?

Something snapped within Kamijou Touma's mind as he grabbed his forehead, crawling into a fetal position and did the only thing that came to mind.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The scream ripped from his mouth as Kamijou let loose the entire burden that had been placed on his shoulders.

He did not do so because he was afraid. That time had passed. He did so because he had been the only one that had managed to survive, the only one that had managed to make it this far in the world where there were only two constants.

Create.

And destroy.

And Kamijou had gotten the option that he had always possessed but right now, that same option was tugging at his heart. He could not remake the world and compete with the power of creation that Othinus had as well as the destruction that she caused.

He was a mere, pathetic, human high school student and she was a God. There was only one thing that would have resulted from a clash between those two forces.

Kamijou felt his throat go dry as no sound left his mouth having been exhausted as he maintained the fetal position, his mind going back towards the one thing that had left him in this state.

Was he going to save those people?

Those people that were going to die anyway?

Those people that Othinus could control, kill and create with a wave of her hand?

Was he going to look towards the future instead of the present in order to determine the right course of action to do?

Kamijou breathed heavily as he considered his options, his mind turning, the boy opening his mouth despite his muddled mind and forming words, hoping that they would encourage him or at least decide his path for him.

These were not the words of the current Kamijou Touma who had been through so much. Nor were they from the previous 'Kamijou Touma' who had left the world.

They were the words that were coming from his broken heart that truly wanted to be relived of this pain. That heart had been crushed to the extent so Kamijou wanted to hear what it said despite the pain that he was receiving.

What was he going to do?

"Screw that."

The harsh words that came from his mouth from his heart made Kamijou stop for an instant in the fetal position that he was in.

Those two words. They were the two words that Kamijou's heart had truly decided to state in this hell and those two words filled Kamijou's being as he placed his right hand on the cold concrete.

"Yeah…..screw that."

Kamijou slowly reached out, grabbing onto the street light and grabbing it with as much strength as he could muster, the sweat that was running down his body freezing in the cold wind.

"Ignore the present because of the future? Is that really a reason? Is that really a reason to stop!? Am I just going to let Othinus do what she wants when there are those that have had their smiles taken away when they themselves don't even realise it?! Am I going to let those that I know merely fade away because I decided that it was convenient to take a break!? Screw thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttttt!"

Kamijou stood up, his gaze turning forward as he grabbed the street light with a strength that filled his entire body.

"I don't give a damn Othinus about the power you think you have. I don't care if you're going to take it all away in the end! Do you really think that I could abandon these people!? Even though they aren't the people that I know, I will save them as well as return to the world that I know!"

He let go of the street light, slamming his right fist into it as he glared towards the empty night.

"You better get ready Othinus. I'm going to stop you right here and now and there is nothing you can do to stop me to protect those people from you."

Kamijou let his words hang in the air as he breathed silently before realised one very basic point.

"Wait. Who the hell is Emiya Shirou? And Tohsaka Rin? They aren't related for sure. Their names aren't even the same! And how is Saber and Archer even a name?!" He wanted to question why everyone wanted to have a fake sounding name like it was no tomorrow however that basic issue stood out in front of him like a sore thumb.

He had no idea where he was.

He knew no one and Academy City did not exist.

Was this Othinus changing the 'point of view' so that the 'viewpoint' of Science was lessened? If that was the case then was Magic 'strengthened'? And if so, what aspects? Kamijou had seen demons that he was sure did not exist in his world but merely by 'strengthening' the aspects behind the mythology behind demons, then he was sure Othinus would allow them to exist.

Othinus could surely do so with her power however Kamijou had no other explanation right now. Again, he needed more information but that information needed to come later. What he needed to do now was to replace all thoughts that he had with one goal.

He needed to find out where these people were. He had no idea where any of them even lived so it was sure to provide him endless trouble if they lived on opposite sides of this town that he found himself in.

"Damn it! I can't stand around here! I need to-!" Kamijou immediately stopped as two shapes sailed overhead, Kamijou going wide eyed as he looked at the shapes that did so.

There were wearing dark colours, most likely black however even so, Kamijou managed to get the glimpse of white and some red before they disappeared into the distance, hopping over the houses like they were nothing more than small ledges.

Kamijou stood silent as he considered what it was that he had just seen. He could not tell the gender of the shapes however given that Academy City had literally been wiped out as an ideal and existence, there was only one thing that gave the explanation towards how those people could manage to leap over building like nothing.

Magic.

And if that was Magic-

No, an even more basic thought entered Kamijou's mind as he looked at the direction that the two figures had headed off in.

What if one of them, or if he was really lucky both of them were two of the people that he was looking for? He seriously doubted it with his luck however at the same time, the only people that he had seen in this world apart from the person that he created was were those two people that had just disappeared.

And they were just out of his sight.

"H-Hang on you guys!" Kamijou immediately broke into a run, attempting to follow the two, noting the left turn up ahead would be the best way to follow them, assuming that they were travelling straight.

He turned the corner-

Slamming right into something head first before he fell backwards, slamming on his butt as he held his nose, feeling a slight warm liquid there, that same liquid suspended in mid-air in front of him.

The air rippled, almost as if there was something there that should not have been, the small bit of blood hovering in mid-air where Kamijou had hit the strange 'wall' that appeared before him. This wall was definitely something that was not natural and only had one purpose; to prevent him from going forward.

And who was the only person that knew that he was here right now?

Kamijou clenched his right hand, standing up and immediately sending a fist into the 'wall' a shattering sound filling the air as the air itself dispersed, shimmering as if someone were looking at it on a warm day from a distance.

Kamijou's fist continued through the air as if nothing had been there, Kamijou immediately running forward in order to try and determine the location of the duo that he had seen before. He had no idea where they were however he merely had to assume that they were travelling where the crow flies which meant that the direction he needed to take was-

"STOP, SABER!"

A voice, male and youthful sounding, filled the air and Kamijou immediately feeling the two words that had been shouted out resounding through his body. Those words, that name, there was only one association that Kamijou could place within that very name and that very place.

Saber. It had been one of the names that Othinus had set as her target.

Kamijou looked around, noting the direction that the voice had come from, immediately turning the corner with a willpower that he knew was driving him faster and faster, the air distorting in front of him as he threw his right hand first wherever he ran.

His legs pounded as he ran, thinking about nothing but taking Othinus head on and to save those people that she had marked in her deathly gaze. This was the only thing that he needed to do however as he ran he truly considered one thing that he needed.

A strategy.

Heading straight into the battle even though there were things that he had to do meant nothing if he died in the first shot. Granted, Othinus could literally remove his muscles like she had done beforehand and end it in one turn however he doubted that it would happen. If anything, in this world of change, he and her were the only constants.

And if anything, Othinus wanted to make sure that his pain was something constant that he would always remember. As a result, there was no way that she was merely going to end things right here and now.

However even so that was the case, things were always changing. He needed to make sure that he headed into this battle with a method beyond his right hand, however this was a suburban neighbourhood. Any time that he took looking for a weapon was time that he wasted when it came towards protecting those strangers.

But even so, he needed to make sure that Othinus truly did not expect the attack that was coming. There was only one way that this endless fight would end; Kamijou touching Gungnir with his right hand. Of that he was sure but even so, he still needed to attempt to start the fight.

Granted, in the larger picture, the fight was more of a one-sided slaughter and Othinus had barely started to which Kamijou needed to make sure that he threw her expectations through the window from the start. But how could he-

Kamijou grit his teeth. He wasn't sure and he hated placing other people's lives on the line like he was thinking but as long as he wasn't there, there was the chance that Othinus would not kill them, choosing to wait until Kamijou was there to witness his failure in order to break him.

Yet by that same token, all she needed to do was kill them and her job was done. She didn't need Kamijou there.

But even so, the 'point of view' that Othinus had placed on the world that Kamijou was in right now was unclear to him but even so, there were worlds where that didn't even matter, just like when she had dunked him in liquid nitrogen in the previous world. He had not seen the outside world, merely waking up strapped to the device that was hovering above the liquid.

It was possible that she would merely end things without him understanding the nature of the world however he truly hoped that Othinus would go out of her way to cause him pain and misfortune. As long as he counted on that, he could truly come up with a way to save them.

Keeping an eye of the location that he needed to head towards in the distance, Kamijou approached the nearest house, immediately leaping over the gate and looking around seeing what he needed to find instantly.

The garbage can lay near the entrance and Kamijou opened the lid, holding his nose but still searching with his eyes in the bin. From what he could tell, this was either late night or early morning which meant that for a person that was trying to relax and kick up their feet for the day…

Kamijou found the empty bottle of wine immediately, poking out from the top, grabbing it with one hand and noting the smell of alcohol and he wiped the bottle on the grass. But still, would this be enough? Kamijou questioned it however noticed one more thing that he could use as a weapon, although it made him sorry to consider such.

However in order to protect these people, he needed to make sure that he was ready to fight that God.

"Sorry." Kamijou apologised towards the house as he opened the mailbox, noting that there were letters inside before ripping the entire box off its stand and ripping the stand from the ground. He quickly wrote down his phone number and an apology on one of the letters, putting them underneath the door of the house that he had effectively vandalised, grabbing the pole that the mailbox had been attached to along with the wine bottle.

There was no way that he was going to win with these. Of that Kamijou was sure yet-

"That's not going to stop me." He broke into a run again, turning right at the end of the house and then left, noting that the path in front of him was a stone stairway, voices entering his ears as he realised that he was close, Kamijou tightening his grip in the mailbox stand in his right hand.

The voices were soft but even then, Kamijou could see the air in front of him seem to distort just in front of the nearest turn to the left. There was only one thing that was beyond that very 'wall' of air that was placed in front of the entrance to the road that was in front of him.

It was time to start this struggle once again, not for himself but for those that he had fought for all along, those people that truly wanted to stay alive with their smiles on their faces. That was all that he needed.

So if that was the case-

Kamijou held up his hand, the knuckle of his right hand touching the end of the air 'wall', the moment he did the magic there immediately negating as Kamijou circled around the corner, yelling only one thing that was needed in order to start the battle.

"Othinnuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuussssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!"

* * *

><p>The people he saw were definitely strange.<p>

In front and closest, with her back turned towards him, Othinus stood with her revealing clothes and witch's hat, leaning against the Gungnir lance as she slowly turned her gaze towards him, a bored expression there, a flash of fascination as she looked at the weapons that he had in his hands.

However the other people were definitely not as strange as her.

The boy on the left wore brownish clothes with what looked like a white undershirt poking out from the top of the clothes, the brown clothes likely being that of a school uniform because of the fact that his pants and shirt matched each other. There was what looked like a bloodstain on the left, near the boy's heart however he wasn't dead yet so Kamijou immediately relaxed as soon as he saw it.

His topaz coloured eyes stared in surprise at Kamijou and his red hair seemed to move slightly in the wind that was created as such.

The woman that was next to him though looked as though she was taken out of some history book that a professional might read and analyse to determine stature and posture in battle. She was gripping something in her hands however Kamijou could not see it, her clothes looking like battle armour; a blue dress and top however Kamijou also noted the breast plate and gauntlets that covered her arms.

If anything, the metal plates that covered her sides also revealed to Kamijou that she was either a very dedicated cosplayer or….a magician. Or at least someone that was heavily lying on the Magic side of such yet it didn't matter to him.

The woman's green eyes seemed surprised to see him and he felt as though it was justified. After all, what was a spiky haired boy doing with a pole and bottle? He figured that he must have looked extremely odd towards the blonde haired woman as he turned his gaze towards the others, slightly recognising them.

The girl next to the woman looked around the same age as the boy as her turquoise eyes looked at the boy with suspicion. Her black hair was tied in a twintail fashion or facsimile of such wearing clothes that sort of looked similar to the boy's; a brown shirt however the legs and jacket she were wearing were of different colours, being black and red respectively.

She merely moved her hands towards her back while everyone was looking at the new entrance and Kamijou merely noticed her calm demeanour, hoping that she would have the rational to do what he told her when the time came.

The man next to her though seemed more familiar because of his white hair. His red jacket was what stood out the most about him as well as the strange nature of his pants, a pattern and make that Kamijou had never seen before. His eyes seemed to analyse Kamijou thoroughly and the composure that he had suggested that he was ready for anything.

Kamijou also hoped that that would maintain itself as the former two seemed to be more panicked than the latter two that were trying to understand the nature of what was going on here in front of them.

But Kamijou Touma didn't need them to understand. He just needed them to do one thing.

"Oh. You're here. But in the end, you're too late. After all, I said the names and from where you're standing…." Othinus turned to look at the foursome, the woman in the battle armour gripping the thing in her hand tighter as Othinus ignored her.

"I'd say I got the names right in order from left to right from our perspective. But you can guess what happens now right?"

Emiya Shirou, Saber, Tohsaka Rin and Archer. Kamijou noted the names that Othinus had noted off before, applying them to each person from left to right, the two boys and two girls. But even so, that meant nothing to him right now when there was something that he could achieve right now in this moment.

"But enough games. Time to die you guys. It'll be painful." remarked Othinus as she touched her lance.

"You-!" The woman in the battle armour, Saber, spoke towards Othinus however was looking in such a way that Kamijou could also feel as though it was directed towards him. What had he done?!

No, that was right. He hadn't done anything right now and what he needed to do was-

Tell this group what they needed to do.

"Run!"

Kamijou immediately yelled out that one word, throwing the bottle through the air as it sailed towards Othinus, the God merely turning and tilting her head slightly as the bottle passed right by her, smashing against the ground but Kamijou had already taken action.

Without hesitation, he raced forward yelling with the mailbox stand, swinging it towards the god's form, Othinus disappearing in an instant as the mailbox stand swung through empty air and almost threw Kamijou off his balance.

"Damn it!" he cried however the response of others was different.

"What the-!? How was she hiding her mana like that? Archer, can you sense her?!" Tohsaka Rin shouted towards Archer, the man looking down at her however Kamijou already knew what was happening.

He had been through this again and again.

Tohsaka had spoken first, isolating her position as the temporary leader in terms of what was happening right now in this incident. And that meant that in order to deal with that, there was only one thing that Othinus would do in order to make sure that the situation of terror never left her control.

And that meant-

"Get down!"

Kamijou immediately ran towards the girl, swinging the mailbox towards her to which Tohsaka's eyes went wide as she backed away from the blow that Kamijou was sending her way, Archer looking towards Kamijou with an expression of pure malice as he put his hands at his side, a strange light gathering there….

Just as the lance Gungnir sliced through the air where Tohsaka's chest had just been, slicing through her jacket ever so slightly, Othinus watching the girl ever so slightly out of her left eye as Tohsaka's face went pale in shock and surprise before it turned immediately towards the threat heading her way.

Othinus merely held up a hand and the mailbox stand hit it, shattering the tip into a thousand pieces in the process, all the pieces of metal smashing on the floor, Kamijou changing tactics at the last minute now that his method had been destroyed.

Yelling, he thrust the pointed tip towards Othinus's leg but once again she merely disappeared, appearing seconds later as she slammed her knee into Kamijou's chest, Kamijou feeling as though his lungs had once again failed.

He coughed up saliva and let go of the mailbox stand but didn't merely recoil.

He was literally blasted back into the wall, imbedding a crater that looked just like an imprint of his body as dust and rubble flew in all directions from the one blow. His felt as though his chest would be swallowed up in pain as he fell forward, catching himself and managing to stand at the last minute, breathing heavily although it was difficult.

A warm fluid ran down his mouth and he wiped away the blood that was there as if it was nothing. He had dropped the mailbox stand, looking for it in the corner of his eyes as he looked towards Othinus with a glare that suggested that there was no way that something like that was going to take him out.

"Archer!" Tohsaka yelled out towards the man and he immediately responded, disappearing in an instant as Tohsaka turned her gaze towards Emiya, Kamijou doing so as well, seeing that he had managed to pick up the fallen mailbox stand with shaking hands.

"Emiya-kun! You need to back off and get Saber to attack!" she said.

Emiya thought turned towards her with a gaze that suggested confusion but also determination. "Hang in just a minute Tohsaka! What in the world-?!" He asked however Tohsaka had already changed her target of direction.

She turned towards Kamijou with a gaze that held questions. "And you need to do the same! This isn't a battle for normal people!" She yelled that as she took one step forward yet it was Kamijou that yelled towards her.

"Don't be an idiot! It's you guys need to get out of here fast! There's no way that you can win!" stated Kamijou as he gathered strength in his legs, ready to pounce towards Othinus however the response that he got from Tohsaka was something that he did not expect.

"I have no idea who you are, but let me tell you one thing. _Don't underestimate the power of Servants_."

The moment that Tohsaka Rin let out those words the ground in front of Kamijou seemed to explode with Othinus at the centre, Kamijou having to cover his face in order to stop the rubble that was flying towards him. Air rushed from the centre of the crater as some kicked up, Kamijou managing to see three figures in the centre.

They were merely standing there however it looked as though two of them were on the offensive, only one figure on the defensive. Kamijou didn't need an explanation in order to determine who it was that was in what position.

As the smoke cleared, Kamijou saw the scene that he had and had not expected. The first was that of Othinus standing unharmed in the centre of the crater. However he did not expect to see the weapons that Archer and Saber held pointed directly at Othinus.

No, that was not really the proper explanation of the scene in front of him. Those weapons were not merely pointed towards her. They were resting on her skin as if they had been swung with all their might, Saber's whatever-she-was-holding weapon and the two swords that were in Archer's hands.

Othinus merely looked bored as she took a look at the weapons that were resting on her skin.

"Really? It's going to take more than that to even scratch me."

Kamijou, Emiya and Tohsaka all looked at the scene pale-faced as they considered the scene in front of them. Kamijou had no idea what they were thinking but Archer and Saber's attacks had definitely been strong, strong even to cause that crater and the resulting shockwave. Yet there had been no effect whatsoever. Othinus stood unharmed at the centre of it all.

This was a god and they were nothing more than puny humans trying to fight that same being. The fact that were trying to defeat her went beyond blasphemy and entered the realm of pure insanity.

"What-!?"

"How-!?"

Saber's and Archer's words came out as a shock even to them who had landed the blows but Kamijou immediately saw his chance to move, as did two other figures.

Emiya Shirou let out a roar, running forward towards Othinus with the mailbox stand, a green light having covered it in numerous places, a magic that Kamijou could not recognise but it did not matter. The movement of the second figure was enough to put Kamijou on full alert.

Othinus rose her hands, the lance disappearing in her hands as she did so. One might think that that was an advantage Othinus having lost her greatest weapon however Kamijou knew better.

That one action stated that she could eliminate them without it.

Othinus swung both of her arms to her side, the arms touching the weapons that were on her soft skin, sparks flying off as soon as she did so.

Saber and Archer immediately took note of the action, jumping back however the two boys had already managed to reach the spot that they had left, Emiya gripping the mailbox stand tighter while Kamijou clenched his right fist.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Shirou!"

Both of them shouted out as Saber yelled out Emiya's name yet Othinus took no watch towards the boy holding the Imagine Breaker, swinging her arm to the side as if she was spinning on the spot, just as Emiya swung down the mailbox stand like a bludgeon in order to hit her.

Her arm hit the mailbox stand and Kamijou awaited the crack of the sound of her arm breaking from the force that Emiya was swinging the mailbox stand with however nothing like that even remotely occurred.

Because like a sword, Othinus's arm cut through the mailbox stand, no sparks coming through the attack as if the stand were nothing more than a wet noodle. The tip fell towards the ground, the stand having shortened by half as Emiya gaped at the sight, Saber having crossed the gap between her and him in a second, gabbing him by the nape of the neck and throwing him backwards as she swung her sword and Kamijou swung his fist.

Othinus grabbed Saber's 'invisible weapon' and sparks resounded out as she grabbed the edge of it in the air, the air shimmering like it had before as Saber tried to push forward however to no avail, sparks flying everywhere as she tried to move the immovable force with the invisible force.

Her response towards Kamijou was completely different.

She stomped on the ground, the moment that she did, Kamijou immediately sinking into the ground as a result, his left leg doing so however he had already taken note of it, jumping with his right as he let out a roar, sending his right fist towards her-

He stopped, the force that was constraining his leg rising up his body, Kamijou taking the time to look at it once, only to see that the concrete was literally crawling up his leg like a snake, Kamijou gritting his teeth and abandoning his chance to attack Othinus, jumping backwards to which the concrete disappeared in an instant.

Saber continued to grunt as sparks continued to fly, staring Othinus in the eye as green eyes clashed.

"Who….the hell are you?! There's no way that you're a Master or a Servant either! Someone this powerful should never be in this conflict to start with! So who the hell are you?!" Tohsaka yelled towards Othinus to which she turned towards the girl with a look that could only be described as boredom.

"I told you. I am Othinus. And your life and body are in my palm. Anything and everything you do is controlled by me and by me alone."

Her words resounded through Tohsaka's ears however it was Kamijou that found them strange.

What she said was true to the largest extent. Their lives were in her palm and she could extinguish them like a flame on a windy night.

But they were all still here. She had dragged out the fight for something more than just one small counterattack. She had actually countered Emiya's attack and was holding Saber's back. What was the point? She had wanted to kill them right here and now and she could truly do so without even blinking an eye.

So why was she prolonging the battle?

What was she trying to do?

"Please." remarked Tohsaka with condescension in her tone. "I believe you in every sense except that. There is no magus that can remotely control everything. Wishes and beliefs cannot sustain themselves for that long. Immortality is a pipe dream filled with nothing but the thinking of losers."

"Absolute power on the other hand is a constant that everyone wants but only I can obtain. Would you like me to demonstrate?" asked Othinus as she looked towards Emiya, Saber moving in front Othinus's gaze even though she was being held back to which Othinus continued to stare at Saber, like she was watching Emiya through her body.

"Emiya-kun. Even you should recognise that magic isn't something that is governed by creation only. There are rules and processes that need to be followed. And there is no way that can be obtained by someone so young…and exposed." Tohsaka spat out the last word as she twitched her finger slightly to which Emiya slowly nodded.

"Tohsaka is right. Who are you? What do you want? I have no idea what is going on here but what do you want with us?"

Othinus on the other hand merely gave a bored sigh, turning her gaze towards Kamijou as he felt his entire body tingle with something that he knew from previous experience.

It was the chill of knowing that something was coming that he could not stop, dodge, evade or block with his right hand. It was an attack that would always hit its mark so matter what stood in its way.

"Seeing is believing right? I said I can kill you all. That your bodies are in the palm of my hand. It's time I showed you on my favourite toy." She held up the hand that was not holding Saber's blow, putting her middle finger and thumb together as she stared at Kamijou, the gaze in her eyes cold and calculating, Tohsaka and Emiya looking towards her and Kamijou, the stranger that had managed to cut in and save Tohsaka from being cut but Othinus.

Yet the only thing that Kamijou considered was not their gazes but the situation.

Was she going to kill him? Destroy him? Cause his head to be crushed? Electrocute him?

Something was coming and there was nothing Kamijou Touma could do to stop it.

Othinus clicked her fingers in a purely exaggerated fashion.

And Kamijou Touma's left leg literally exploded in a mess of bone, flesh, muscle and blood.

The fact that his support was gone from where it had previously been caused Kamijou to fall to the left, shock and a dizziness filling his head, something that was only removed the moment that he hit the ground, doing so faster than what he thought.

"Ah."

Kamijou felt his mind float in the air as he looked towards the place where his left leg had once been, blood gushing out from it dangerously and pieces of peach coloured skin, white coloured bone and red coloured blood covering part of his body and the area surrounding him.

His left leg was gone.

It had been unceremoniously destroyed as the air flowed into the wound without a care.

And that was when Kamijou screamed.

"GYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed at the top of his voice, grabbing the stump where his leg had previously been, noting with horror that the entire thing had literally disappeared, being shaved off from where it met his torso. He touched the stump with his right hand, hoping to some higher power that the movement would restore his leg however all he felt was blood and the sensation of his own muscles and bone.

Tohsaka was white in the face as she looked on at the scene, Emiya looking as though he was going to be sick as he covered his mouth while Saber's face seemed extremely pale as she watched Kamijou scream pitifully on the ground on front of them.

"See? I told you." Othinus childishly made the remark of arrogance as Kamijou screamed over her, holding up her hand with her thumb and middle finger attached.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand back again."

She clicked her fingers once again, and Kamijou felt something grow from right beneath his fingers, as he felt a cool sensation run through his hands as he weakly looked at where his left leg had been, _seeing that the same leg was there in the position it had once been as if nothing had happened_.

Still, the pain remained within his mind, Kamijou trying to endure it however feeling as though something was going to rise from the back of his throat and empty his stomach's contents onto the street.

"That's….not possible." Emiya stated that fact slowly as he backed away from the scene and boy who was panting heavily as Othinus turned towards him, raising her hand once again.

"Shall we repeat the process again?" she asked, her thumb and middle finger place dangerously close towards each other, causing the three people to stop momentarily as they watched the girl's fingers, awaiting what she would do with them.

"OTHINUS!" Kamijou shouted from the ground, lifting himself up with his hands shakily. There was no way that he was going to let her toy with them any longer. This was it and this was the moment that he needed to make sure counted the most. This was the moment that he needed to end things before they went out of control.

His left leg was perfectly fine however the memory of the pain that had once filled his body almost caused him to collapse, Kamijou touching the leg slightly with his right hand. If it was maintained with magic he didn't need a leg that he could not rely on. He needed to make sure that this leg was something that would last no matter what.

Kamijou touched the leg with his right hand, feeling the skin underneath it however it did not disappear and no magic was negated. That meant that it was a physical phenomenon, a real object like any other.

Which meant that he could use it in order to save these people.

He leaped forward, forcing down the pain that threatened to cause him to become debilitated, favouring his right leg as he saw Saber tense from his movement, almost as if she was surprised to see that the boy had moved whatsoever.

"Wait! W-What are you doing!?" Emiya from behind her seemed to reach out towards Kamijou however realised the one fact that a fate similar to what Kamijou had just experienced awaited him.

Kamijou though paid him no mind, running forward with a yell as he held out his right hand as another voice yelled through the air.

"Archer! Take action now! I don't care what you do but do it now!"

As Tohsaka yelled, Othinus however merely changed the tactic that she was using, literally throwing Saber towards the side, smashing her into the fall and making a crater next to the one that Kamijou had made.

"Saber!" Emiya shouted towards the girl, starting to head towards her before he stopped, looking towards the boy that was heading towards Othinus without a second thought after what had happened to him.

Saber pushed herself off the wall, looking towards the sight of Emiya that was standing in the distance.

"Shirou! Get back inside the house! Someone of your skill can't participate here!" she shouted towards him as Emiya turned towards her, looking back towards the boy that was heading towards Othinus.

"But what about-" He began asking however the flash of light that literally passed by him sent a rush of wind past him so fast that the cold wind seemed to dig into his skin, Emiya grunting he put up his hands to cover his face, seeing at the last minute the sight of an arrow sailing through the air that hit Othinus dead centre in the head.

However the world distorted.

Like Othinus's head was a lake, the moment the arrow touched her blond hair, it seemed to ripple from the tip of the arrow as the arrow sunk deeper and deeper into her skull yet not appearing on the other side, instead the arrow reappearing in the open palm she was holding open towards one person.

The arrow entered her head and exited from her palm, the arrow sailing through the air and piercing Kamijou right in the right shoulder, throwing him backwards violently as he gagged in pain as the arrow pushed him backwards into the wall that he had been slammed into before, jamming his right shoulder blade into the concrete.

"Gfbh? Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kamijou let out that shout as Tohsaka realised that Archer's attack was not working at all, placing her right hand on her left forearm, pointing her hand forward as he held out her left hand vertically, a hazy black orb gathering there in her hand.

Without hesitation or stopping to think what would happen, she fired the spell, Emiya not recognising the spell as it sailed through the air, hitting Othinus in numerous places however just like before, the moment they touched her, her skin seemed to ripple and those black orbs were fired out of her palm, striking Kamijou in various places, blood coming from the wounds that they caused.

"T-Tohsaka, stop!" yelled Emiya and Tohsaka did, her voice wavering as she looked at Othinus.

"She's…..absorbing the mana and converging it to her will!? T-Tha-!" She stopped her words as she considered what was happening however it was Saber that responded, moving from the wall and kicking off the ground, yelling as she swung towards Othinus that was merely keeping her eye on Kamijou the entire time.

"Get out of my way." she said towards Saber and in the next instant, Saber's body was literally blasted towards the side, the woman circling in the air as she tumbled, straightening out and skidding on the ground, pale faced as she watched the God approach the human.

Kamijou watched her approach, thinking of only one thing as she approached, reaching his right hand for the arrow that was inside his shoulder blade, pain running through his body as he did so however he endured, getting the Imagine Breaker closer and closer towards the object itself-

"Now, now, we can't have that." Othinus appeared in front of him with a speed that was impossible to follow with the human eye, Kamijou going white in the face as she reached the arrow, grabbing it with one hand.

The moment she did, the arrow itself exploded, centred in Kamijou's shoulder blade.

Yet there was no burning sensation whatsoever to the touch where the arrow was, Othinus having grabbed the arrow and the white of the explosion literally travelling up her arm as if she were absorbing the power that was contained within it.

What the hell was she doing?! She was saving his life even though they were enemies and the fact that she was still causing him pain made Kamijou truly question the contradiction that was occurring. What was Othinus doing? She could kill everyone here right here and now so why wasn't she!?

"Archer!" called Tohsaka into the night. "Stop! We have to retreat! We need to get out of here as fast as we can!" She said towards the man however he was nowhere to be seen, Othinus's gaze slightly turning towards the right where Tohsaka was standing as the arrow disappeared itself, Kamijou falling to the ground where he landed on both his legs, the boy stumbling from the remembrance of what had happened to him before.

"Just sit still." remarked Othinus. "This will be over in an instant. You failed. Once again." Her words crushed Kamijou's heart as he considered them.

He had his left leg destroyed and returned. He had been shot in the shoulder blade with an arrow, thrown against a concrete wall and had a strange magic spell hammered into his body like a bullet. There was no way that he could even remotely think of continuing for himself however that in itself told him one thing that he needed to know.

He wasn't fighting for the future or himself. He was fighting to protect the smiles of those others that were in the present.

Whether he knew them didn't matter. Whether he would suffer did not matter either. There was only one thing that he had to do.

"Damn youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Kamijou roared, standing up and using his body to circle his right fist due to centrifugal force, the only attack that he hoped that he would be able to get in in this battle-

Othinus disappeared and he knew that it was over.

She appeared right behind him, with her back facing the wall that he had slammed into in the very beginning.

"Think twice before you thrown those pathetic punches you puny human. I'll show you how a God does it properly."

Othinus clenched her own right fist, slamming it into Kamijou's chest as he begun to turn towards her as the white energy pulsed down her arm and into the fist that was contacted with the centre of Kamijou's chest.

The explosion that had once been the one from Archer's arrow concentrated itself into Kamijou's chest, the sound that filled his ear drums enormous however the pain that filled his body impossible to describe as the focused explosion was poured right into the centre of his chest.

He was literally blasted back into the wall behind him, bursting through the concrete as he tumbled head over heels into the garden that lay beyond it, slamming onto the ground where he continued his pathetic ride before he slammed into the metal of a storeroom behind him, the impact causing a cracking sound from coming from his right shoulder blade.

Saliva and blood came from Kamijou's mouth as he let his head drop, looking towards the centre of his chest, wondering how the hell he was still conscious from all of that looking at the wound he had received.

_His clothes had an enormous burning hole in the centre of it_, the same hole going through the material where the smell of burning flesh filled his nose, a warm, red liquid going from his chest into the lower regions of his pants as the blood flowed down his body. He couldn't see the wound completely however hoped that there was nothing white sticking out from his chest.

He put all of his body weight into the back of his body, the result of such meaning that his weak body and blurring vision could see the sight of Emiya Shirou shouting towards Tohsaka Rin as the sound of smashing and clashing filled his ears.

Those people were those that he had failed to save. Those that he had let down once again.

There were no screams of pain or anguish as the clashing continued. Why was Othinus causing the clash to continue? What was the point of it all? Was it to give Kamijou a chance to defeat her?

He truly doubted that she wanted to be defeated or that such a chance would arise. In fact, there was only one thing that filled his mind as he considered what had happened to him and the fact that he could even still think.

Othinus wanted to use this world for a little longer. But with who? And to what end?

What was there that he could see here? What would be the cause of the breaking of his mind?

"Shirou! Get back! She's marked you!"

The voice of Saber filled the air and she appeared in the gap in front of him, Kamijou seeing through the hole that he had created Saber standing holding her invisible weapon as she stood in front of Emiya, in an effort to protect him.

"Emiya-kun! Get the hell away from here! You have to-!" Tohsaka's voice came through as a plea however the only thing that Kamijou considered in front of him was that Emiya Shirou was not yet dead while he had been 'marked'.

And with Saber standing in front of him, that would surely give him the chance to escape.

Yet-

"…That…."

Kamijou slowly let out that word. There would be no one blaming him at all if he sat there and did nothing. In fact he knew numerous people that would tell him to sit back and merely let events take place in front of him. He had been beaten and he had lost. There was nothing he could do but watch his failure and endure it, moving onto the next world in order to redeem the mistake that he had made.

But even so, the one fact in his mind was that Emiya Shirou was going to die.

How would Saber react?

How would Tohsaka Rin react?

How would Archer react?

How would his family react?

And most importantly-

How would Kamijou Touma react?

"That won't work!"

Kamijou moved his body forward, using the momentum in order to move his body forward, pain blossoming and enveloping his body cruelly as he somehow managed to stand, getting a grip on the ground with his feet.

The moment he did though he regretted it, feeling nothing but endless pain and a trip to an abyss that was only one way.

Still he didn't care as he took another step.

He had to make it there.

He took another step.

He needed to reach that place where Emiya was before Othinus did! And the moment that he did so, that was the only small victory that he needed!

He would protect the smiles of anyone and everyone and become a shield for all the misfortune that one would face.

Even if it was coming from a Magic God.

He didn't recognise the fact that he had reached Emiya, until the time where he outstretched his hands, pain coming through his shoulder blade to such an extent that he could hardly tell what no pain in his body felt like.

He grabbed the boy by the shoulders, Emiya turning towards him and going white in the face as Tohsaka and Archer watched the actions of the boy with pure fascination and disbelief that he was even still standing.

Saber turned her eyes backwards once as Othinus approached her, having materialised Gungnir again as she approached, Saber's eyes going wide as she saw Kamijou moving from the hole in the concrete wall and grabbing Emiya by the shoulders.

And there was only one thing that he had to say.

"Run."

Kamijou literally put all his force into pushing Emiya to the side as Othinus reacted like lightning in order to intercept what had been her original target. Stepping forward, she literally_ passed right through Saber as if she were nothing_, thrusting the lance through her as well-

Just as Kamijou Touma made it in time, the lance missing Emiya Shirou completely.

Instead, only for a squelching sound filling the air as Kamijou felt the lance pierce his left lung as he coughed up blood and all movement ceased within his body, his body limping as Othinus rose the lance as Saber fell to her knees as she realised what the others should have from the beginning.

They had lost, purely, utterly and completely. And the only thing that had to show for the fact that had made it this far was the fact that they had survived….for now.

Yet even so, the four parties were ignored as Othinus let out words that were meant for only one to hear and answer.

"Well? Was it worth it? Do you really think that you gained anything? Do you really think that these people will know your name? Or even consider it? You are a stranger and you are going to die without remorse. Feel that cold sensation in small increments? That's the feeling of your heart pressing up against Gungnir. Notice how that feeling is getting more and more increased in the time that you feel it? You know what that means right? So tell me, was it worth it?"

Othinus spat out those words towards Kamijou and as his head hung downwards, dripping blood there was only one thing that Kamijou could truly respond with.

"Yes. It always is."

"….."

Othinus looked at the boy for a bit and smiled, a devilish smile that only she truly understood.

"You won't think that for long. And that is when you will break, in this world."

Othinus wasted no time slamming the boy into the ground, a crater forming as Kamijou Touma's body was slammed into the concrete as dust flew in all directions as Kamijou truly felt all feeling leave him as a ringing filled his ears as Othinus turned towards Emiya who immediately backed away with a panicked face before she looked at Tohsaka and Archer, the man standing in front of Tohsaka even though he was doomed to lose.

And-

"Well. You survived. Enjoy the life you have managed to keep. For as long as I see fit to maintain it."

And with that she disappeared, Kamijou listening as nothingness reigned, the sound of breathing getting slower and slower as things calmed down filled the air and as blackness surrounded him.

Was this it? Was this the end?

Kamijou's body had lost all feeling and his vision turned dark as he slowly sunk into the abyss that Othinus had created.

What had she meant that he was going to break in this world? Was she going to keep him alive? Or was this the end for now?

At any rate, there were only two things he had to consider.

He had saved them. He had completed his goal so it was surely worth this pain, this endless abyss of nothingness that slowly wrapped around Kamijou. He had done it.

And the other thought was that there was no way that it could get worse than this.

Yet-

"Touma…"

A voice filled his ears, a childlike voice that was that of a girl's. It was sad, broken and on the verge of tears and the one word, the name that he had not given anyone, that was spoken did something that had not been done in this world as far as Kamijou could remember.

It destroyed him from the inside.

That girl's voice was so close yet so far, reminding him of someone that he had once left. Someone who could possibly not be here. But here it was.

And Kamijou had to ensure that it did not speak with pain any longer.

"Don't worry…"

Was he speaking or thinking these words? He did not know however felt as though it was both. But still he let the words flow out despite the lack of pain as he knew that this was all going to end soon.

"I'll be by your side once again….Soon….."

And everything truly fell silent and ended.

* * *

><p><strong>Crossover done!<strong>

**If anything, with the fight scene and the fact that in my story of A Certain Unknown Level 0, something like this will probably never happen, it truly shows the extent to which I am probably a Touma sadist. But at the same time, the concept here has deep ties to the story arc I'm currently writing so I hope that you look forward to that when I write it.**

**Yet for this crossover I felt as though everything in this world can be broken into two categories with some overlap: can be destroyed by Othinus and can be destroyed by Touma. So here, obviously Touma has to but does not want to destroy whereas Othinus can do nothing but create in order to destroy. It's a nice contrast and puts open the question for this world: between two forces that can truly destroy the world, who will survive?**

**But I felt as though the punishment I gave Touma here was something that only can be written in the context of NT 9. This is set between Version Beta and Omega so among the millions and billions of worlds, this was probably only one of them that could be created by changing the 'point of view' and 'accenting' different things.**

**Obviously in this crossover the emphasis would be the 'Holy Grail' and 'war' with a lesser emphasis of 'science' as was previously explained so I felt as though Othinus could truly do this was the manipulation of the Phases.**

**Writing her fight scenes, or slaughter scenes, was damn hard though! While Accelerator tries to end everything early with a clear weakness in his electrode, Othinus had no barriers and when you have a character that can 'reset' everything in a paragraph, how are you supposed to write that?! I hope that you guys felt that I did this well though.**

**But at any rate, this is the end for now. Until my next status update and one-shot.**

**But this was almost as long as one of the actual chapters…..But I still DON'T OWN ANY CHARACTERS that were mentioned here. Can you name them all? No one has actually managed to do so...**

**But still how did you like Touma fighting a Magic God? I hope you guys felt as though it was something that wasn't over the top. Personally though, I truly think that it was the case.**

**And as always,  
>Review if you please<strong>

**And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.**

**But this is where the fun truly begins. So if you have an idea or request for an interaction, please inform me of such and I'll see what I can do.**


	4. The Good and Bad Toy

**And this is perhaps the start of the project!**

**With all of the previous stories being something that you guys have already read, I think that this is perhaps the first thing that you guys can count as 'new' in this project or something that I have updated for a while.**

**To be honest though, this does not mean that I have disregarded my other project, after all it is the one that has started this one so destroying that one in favour of this would be unfair. If anything, you have to note though that I cannot type two stories with two hands. It just doesn't work.**

**So whatever I write here means that I will not be writing on the other project. If anything though, I suppose these sort of one-shots are going to be a mix of the life in Between the Lines. So maybe or maybe not there will be dates and maybe maybe not fight scenes but if you are looking for a proper plot then perhaps you can look towards my main project.**

**But now for me to move on. And I want to do that my thanking my beta reader PokeRescue18 for the work that he has done. With a mix of questions regarding what to do with this project, he has been kind and really stuck with me. If you think that the first chapter of this is better than my main project I thank him for that.**

**But I'd also like to thank those of you that have managed to stay with me for all this time. Unlike my main, these stories are sort of haphazard so I hope that you still manage to stay with me regardless. But for those that have stuck with me, I truly thank you.**

**But apart from that there is not really that much to say in regards to this project. So let us begin the new work and surprises.**

**Enjoy.**

**Mr Question Mark.**

* * *

><p>The Love That Is Obvious, Yet Never Said. <em>A_Gift_to_Remember.<em>

"I have here two dolls. You can choose only one. If you choose the good doll, you get your money back and we all walk away. Happy as happy can be right?"

"And if I choose the bad one?"

"Well then….."

The smile on the face of the person who spoke was not normal. It was something as if they were speaking to someone that was destined to die at their hands, a fact that would have made many tremble with the fear of taking a life however the smile that was on the person's face did not show that.

Instead, it was a horrible sense of anticipation.

"Let's just say that things will not work out for you then."

"What do I do? Who are you anyway?"

"I-I just told you, you damn idiot! Did you not sense the importance of what I was saying? As for who I am, can you not read what that sign says!?"

The person spoke as they pointed towards the sign that was next to the table that they were sitting at, something that was placed right in front of the window to a famous restaurant chain. The table was portable, as was the chair the person was sitting on as well as the sign, the only things that seemed rooted in place being the two dolls on the table.

But still, the person definitely felt as though they were dealing with someone that did not deserve their time.

But this was a task that had to be done.

No matter what.

"Basically, it says that my name is Frenda Seivelun! Does your brain lack that processing information because the spikes in your hair run into your head?!"

The plan was foolproof. The situation was terrible but the plan was foolproof.

Because Frenda Seivelun had one goal and only one goal in this task in front of her as she looked at the boy in front of her and the two dolls.

And that was a goal that surpassed ever single type of difficulty that she had ever faced in her entire life.

* * *

><p>Two hours prior, the girl known as Frenda Seivelun was faced with the exact same problem albeit without a solution.<p>

Her face was pale and an unnatural sweat ran down her back as she looked at the toys in front of her. They were both the same, identical in nature that of a rabbit with pink fur and buttons for eyes. They were both the same height, shape and possibly the cotton used for their stuffing was the same as well.

But still Frenda frowned as she looked between the two of them, tilting her head in thought before she placed it on the table, turning it so that she looked outside in the window of the Joseph's branch of restaurant that her team, ITEM was so fond of, despite it being in District 7 this time.

It was October 5th.** [1]**

Yet at the same time, it was the day that Frenda had just decided, on a whim to get a present for her little sister, Fremea Seivelun. She did not have a reason for it. It was just a day that she felt that she needed to let her know that, despite the dark nature of her life, she wanted to let Fremea know that she did love her.

After all, she was her little sister, the one person that could not be replaced.

And although the fact was that there were plenty of opportunities that she said that she loved her and that love was returned, she still wanted to give that little something to express that.

Thus leading towards the current situation.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Which is it, which is it, which is iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttt!?" Frenda suddenly grabbed her head, ruffling her blond hair and causing her dark-coloured beret to fall to the ground. She looked at it with displeasure and she placed her head on the table and spoke up.

"Oh. Hamazura. Basically, I want you to pick that up for me. It doesn't match what I'm wearing otherwise." she said towards the person that was standing at the table despite the fact that only Frenda was there.

"Wh-What?! I thought that I would be doing important at least! Why the hell do I have to pick that up?!"

"Is that what you want written on your tombstone?"

"I-I'll do it ma'am." Hamazura Shiage gave in easily as he shakily bent down and picked up the beret that had fallen and lifted it onto the table, placing it next to Frenda's head. Despite the fact that he had only recently started working for this 'ITEM', courtesy of the failure of the Dangai University Database Centre attack and the assassination of Misaka Misuzu, Hamazura still wondered if this was what the life of a Level 0 like himself could be reduced to easily.

"B-But what are you doing anyway?" he asked Frenda as she sat at the table with a frown, clearly upset about something that was enough to allow her to get the attention of others around her.

"Oh? You want to know?" she asked Hamazura with a raised eyebrow, eyeing him suspiciously before sighing.

"No…..basically, I need another opinion. I can't do this alone." she said as she put both of the dolls in front of Hamazura and took a look out the window without a care as she spoke.

"Choose one of these toys. Then smash it in the chest with something hard, like a fist or something." she said, nonchalantly as Hamazura looked at the both of them before turning towards her.

"They are both the same. Why do I have to do it to only one?"

"One of them has a bomb in it."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!?"

Hamazura let out a scream that should not have come from a male's mouth as he backed away, looking at the dolls in pure fear as he slightly shook while observing them as if they suddenly had increased in the amount of fear that they held, something that was clearly obvious for the Level 0.

This, of course, was Frenda's dilemma.

While she wanted to give one of the toys to her little sister, the fact of the matter was that Frenda was sure that at least one of them had a bomb in it. She did not know why but there was a definite 'wrong feeling' about the toys themselves. Although they had the same weight, something that the bomb would have added to, she could not tell.

They both had metal elements so the bomb could not be determined through a metal detector. Nor could she just rip them open. From how sensitive she had made them, she knew that doing so on the toy with the bomb in it would lead to the loss of her fingers if she was lucky.

And given Fremea's tendency to like those weird, violent video games, there was only one thing she was sure Fremea was going to do with it; probably beat it to a pulp with her bare hands.

And while she did not really understand the nature of 'things you did not give siblings', she was fairly sure that 'toys with bombs in them' was underneath that list.

"So? What are you doing to do Hamazura? I asked you to do something. Basically, do it." remarked Frenda as she opened her eyes and stood up frantically.

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me go outside first!" she said as she started to leave the table.

"That's your first thought?! Is your heart a black hole you bitch? Just what do you think of me anyway!? No, I don't want to answer to that. I'm not going to touch the damn things. Is it pressure sensitive or something to explode when I punch it or the like? Jesus, you must have really wanted to take care of someone like that." remarked Hamazura, partially impressed.

After all, if it was going to drop and explode, Frenda would have been more careful but the fact that she wasn't jumpy meant that she had probably taken safe guards against such, although in other situations, Hamazura could not be sure. The extent to which she was careful though was something that definitely was something that Hamazura did not see in his Skill-Out days.

And if that was the case…..then what was ITEM?

Hamazura had basically started working for them today but at the same time, the prospect of this being the things that he would have to deal with…..

"In any case, I'm not going to touch the damn things. Why do you want to know which one has the bomb in it anyway?" Hamazura reduced his voice to a whisper as he spoke towards Frenda who merely frowned and gave a shrug with a look on her face that asked "Isn't that obvious?".

"So I can throw it away. Duh. But I'm going to give the other one to someone I know so basically I really want to remove the bomb from the toy." she said with a soft tone, something that Hamazura did not delve into, given the nature of what it was that he was looking at.

"But why me? Why ask me?" he asked her to which she shrugged, giving the impression that perhaps Frenda did things without thinking of their after effects. Such as placing a bomb inside a rabbit for example.

Yet at the same time, he sighed, rubbing his eyes and pointing towards the toys.

"Well, you want to know which one of them has the bomb without dealing with the thing yourself right?" he asked her to which she nodded in response Frenda frowned as she looked towards the oddly professional look that Hamazura had in his eyes.

"Obviously. What do you suggest then?" she asked him to which Hamazura only said one word.

"Outsourcing."

* * *

><p>Frenda Seivelun felt stupid but at the same time, oddly comfortable with the suggestion that Hamazura had given. While he had left, doing some 'official business' that he did not want to disclose, something that Frenda felt was a camouflage for wanting to run away, it had left Frenda alone to look at the toys and the reality that one of them was a bomb.<p>

She did not do so without distraction though.

She had moved outside the restaurant, choosing a fold up table and chair to sit in as she placed a sign next to the table that she sitting at, giving the suggestion that Hamazura had given to her in word form.

Basically it said:

'The Good and Bad Toy. Pay 1000 Yen to have a guess. If you get the good toy, you get your money back! But if you choose the bad….By Frenda Seivelun.'

She looked at the sign with a look on content as she nodded to herself, before noting the petrol station that was almost empty of customers on the opposite side of the road that she was on.

After all, her plan was simple. Should the consumer choose the Good Toy, then they walked away with their money and Frenda knew which one to give to Fremea. She won her sister's gift and the consumer got their money back.

Yet if they chose the Bad Toy, then they would likely perish, Frenda would know which one was the Good Toy and come out with 1000 Yen at the end of it! Luckily, she had chosen a spot without any security cameras to conduct business meaning that her plot was completely foolproof.

Either way, she won in the sense that she knew which toy was the one to give to Fremea and there was always the chance she would win 1000 Yen! It was outsourcing by giving the problem to someone else!

"Shishishishi." She laughed to herself yet at the same time frowned after laughing.

After all, she had been here for the last hour or so and the only thing that she got for sitting in this weather was probably a bad tan and people looking at her and the sign with odd looks before running away after Frenda had called out to them after giving time to read the sign.

"Honestly is the world just cruel or is it trying to avoid me or something?" Frenda asked with a pout in her tone whilst grumbling as she looked at the onlookers that were clearly trying to avoid her.

But if this idea did not work, she was definitely going to murder that Hamazura! But not in front of Mugino. DEFINITELY not in front of Mugino. While she might be able to get away with saying that 'newbies should learn the hard way', she might suspect something and possibly result in some harsh punishment that would raise a number of death flags.

Yet she watched the crowd as time passed, noting the people and the people that they were with, trying to grasp the attention of the men by using her feminine charms (which usually did not work) or try to appeal to the woman by trying to appear weak (which also did not work).

Another half an hour passed as did the amount of patience that Frenda had as she slowly closed her eyes, sighing to herself and placed both hands on the table, ready to stand up and leave. If there was no one that was willing to help her in her endeavour then all she had to do was leave the present for another occasion.

After all, it wasn't Fremea's birthday or anything. She just wanted her to know that her big sister was here for her if she needed anything.

But somehow, even that was nothing more an illusion. She would not be here forever, that much she knew and there was definitely a chance that Fremea would die before she did, especially in this City of Science where anything could happen, but even so, if something happened to her, Frenda wasn't sure what she would do.

What would happen if she left her life?

Or the opposite; what would happen if she left Fremea's?

Who would take care of her then?

Perhaps it was because she saw death and caused it every now and then that she had these thoughts but even so, they weighed heavily on her head. Was there really a chance that Fremea would be left with nothing?

Frenda knew that Fremea would always have something to remind her by but even so, the small tugging within her heart wanted to make sure that there was something else that she could leave behind. Her existence was fleeting but even so, that was her wish right now.

But even so, that was something that was her own selfish wish and nothing to be granted by anyone, especially towards someone like her.

"Heh….Basically, I just want to be pampered." said Frenda to herself as she breathed in ready to stand up-

And she saw him.

He wasn't anyone special.

He was just a normal boy, someone she did not know, perhaps her age or older. He was wearing a school uniform with a jacket that covered his orange shirt, a jacket that was similar in coloured to her beret and matched his pants. His face was boring, although he had the look of someone that had just had a bad day and his spiky hair went in all directions.

But the thing that stood out about him the most, _was that he was looking at the sign_.

It might have been passing interest however he had physically stopped and was reading it over, once, twice and perhaps even three times.

Frenda paused, looking at him, something that he did not notice as she watched him before clenching her fist in the table.

She wanted to leave a mark, another mark, in the life of her sister and this toy was how she was going to do it. Which meant that this was her last chance to do something and ask herself whether she could be allowed to leave something like this.

This was her last chance.

So she out on an angelic smile and waved towards the boy while sitting down on the chair that she had been sitting in this whole time.

"Hello there sir. May I help you?" she asked him, grabbing his attention. He blinked once then twice before moving.

However he did not move away, rather _forward _towards the small table that Frenda had set up.

"Hey there." he said with a wave. "I was just wondering what this was."

Frenda maintained the smile towards him and spoke.

"I have here two dolls. You can choose only one. If you choose the good doll, you get your money back and we all walk away. Happy as happy can be right?"

"And if I choose the bad one?"

"Well then….Let's just say that things will not work out for you then."

"What do I do? Who are you anyway?"

"I-I just told you, you damn idiot! Did you not sense the importance of what I was saying? As for who I am, can you not read what that sign says!?"

Frenda, without knowing it, lost her temper as she pointed towards the sign that she had basically memorised. Did this kid even listen to thing that she was saying?!

"Basically, it says that my name is Frenda Seivelun! Does your brain lack that processing information because the spikes in your hair run into your head?!"

"Fre…nda?" he asked her at her foreign name as Frenda frowned.

"Why did you just separate my name in two!? Yes, it's Frenda! Do you have a problem with that?" she asked him as she crossed her arms, causing the boy to step back a bit with a nervous smile.

"Ah!? No, it's just a name that….I don't hear very often, that's all." he explained. "But is it OK if I have a go at this? I mean choosing the Bad Toy doesn't mean it's going to blow up or anything right?" He laughed however Frenda had frozen in shock.

Had she been found out?! Just how much of an expert was this boy!? She had thought that perhaps his idiotic face was something that one might find anywhere but at the same time, she felt that she had severely underestimated this boy and his ability to sense a bad situation!

No….this had to be maintained! She had to deal with this calmly and rationally!

"Hahaha! That's right! Who would do something like that here in Academy City? Anyway, if I could please have the fee required?" she asked as she held out her hand towards the boy.

He nodded and brought out his wallet, bringing out 1000 Yen as he handed it to her, something that she placed on the table between the two rabbit dolls in order to show to him that she was, all appearances given, an honest person.

"There we go." he said with a smile. "So what do I do now?" he asked her.

"Just choose a doll." she explained.

"Is that it? How do I know if it's the right or wrong one?"

"Simple." Frenda said as she reached for something that she had taped under the table, bringing it out and smashing it onto the table, onto the 1000 Yen that was there, an action that caused the boy to pale as he looked at what Frenda was holding as she kept her smile.

"You smash it with this hammer."

"….."

A stiff silence filled the air as the boy looked towards the hammer and then towards Frenda and back again, blinking a few times before he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um….I'm just asking but has this doll done something to you?"

"Not at all. But if it's the Bad Toy, it might to you." said Frenda maliciously as the boy seemed to sweat drop.

"Right. By the way, do I get my 1000 Yen back if I get the Bad Toy? Because usually, my misfortune seems to suggest that I will choose the Bad Toy." said the boy with a sad smile on his face, something that Frenda felt she pitied somewhat. If this boy's life was that bad, why would he give 1000 Yen to a stranger?

Conclusion: he was an idiot.

"Ah, no. Basically I think that if you choose the Bad Toy, you won't need 1000 Yen where you're going." replied Frenda bluntly towards him.

"Wh-what does that mean?! That raises all kinds of death flags Frenda-san! Can I at least have the 1000 Yen back before I smash one of these toys?" asked the boy with a pained look on his face.

Frenda though frowned before pulling the 1000 Yen closer to herself.

"No! You have to smash one of the toys first!" she said in a frantic voice. Why was this kid asking so many questions?! Smash the damn toy!

"Huh?! It's my money! G-give it back and then I'll smash whatever toy you want!" said the boy as he grabbed the other end of the money, tugging on it however Frenda had already lifted it up towards her, pulling on it at the other direction.

"No! You have to choose what toy to smash! I don't know which it is!" Frenda yelled towards him as they continued to tug-of-war.

"What does that mean!? It's your stall isn't it? How do you not know which is the Bad one!? Is there something inside it that is important to you or something? I don't think that you would let a random stranger like me do this if there was!" The boy retorted.

"I-I just haven't checked! And no, there's nothing important in there!" Frenda cried as she tugged onto the 1000 Yen. For something so little, right now it seemed like a lot to her!

"So there is something in there! What is it that you want my 1000 Yen so badly!? I worked hard for this!"

"Basically I'm not telling you!"

"Why?! What is it? Tell me!"

"No!"

"Do it!"

"I won't!"

"You will!"

"I won't!"

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Will!"

"F-Fine, basically it's a fucking bomb alright!?" Although she said the words, the last three were whispers that only she and the boy could hear, something that made the both of them go white in the face as they realised what it was that she had actually said.

Their shouting had attracted attention but now that it was over, the pedestrians seemed unoccupied by the quarrel, leaving the two of them staring at each with expressions of disbelief and confusion regarding what it was that Frenda had said.

The boy's mouth seemed to open and close frantically as Frenda made the last tug with her hands and stole the 1000 Yen from him before putting it in her dress for safe keeping as she watched the boy who seemed stunned before slumping, trying to find his words.

Generally though, there was nothing that could be said. When in shock, most people rambled whatever was at the top of this mind. Although some of it made no sense, well if he suddenly said something like "You're beautiful Frenda-san" she might forgive him for being annoying, generally the incoherence of the mind made things hard to grasp when they spoke.

As a result, having seen this type of thing before, Frenda Seivelun was absolutely prepared for anything that the boy wo-

"Wh-What colour is it?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?! How am I supposed to know?! Basically it's probably black!"

Frenda paused the moment she answered and held her head in her hands as she realised the answer that she had given and the tone her retort had been in. She grit her teeth as she wondered why the question had been so annoying to her in the first place or why she had answered in the way she did.

Conclusion: she was an idiot as well.

"B-Black? Are you sure?" The boy asked her as he looked towards the rabbit dolls, gulping slightly, Frenda looking at him with a frown. For something like this, he was taking it awfully well. Yet at the same time, his answer pissed her off to the largest extent but she could only shrug.

"I don't know. Probably. Bombs are black."

"I guess. But why? I-I mean, can't you have red bombs? Or green bombs?"

"Basically, why do you want different coloured bombs?! It's not like you can go into a store and ask them "Do you have bombs in white today?"!? Just crack it open and if you find it, you can spray paint it whatever colour you want or buy it beforehand!" Frenda panted as she frantically answered the boy as he blinked once and pointed at the 1000 Yen that she had in her dress.

"Well, I would need-"

"Fine! Take it and get me a water while you're at it! I'm thirsty after talking to you!" She took the money out and gave it to the boy as she pouted, turning her head in a pompous manner as the boy nodded.

"Right. Any brand or-?"

"Just go!" Frenda yelled to which the boy jumped and slowly walked away.

Frenda placed a hand to her brow. Right. Now that was dealt with, all she needed to do was figure out which toy had the-

She opened her eyes and blinked as she realised the very reason why she had talked to the boy in the first place.

"OI! COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!" She shouted as she literally leaped out of her chair and tackled the boy to the ground by grabbing him by the legs as he was about to escape.

"No! Leave me alone! I knew something was off! M-My money! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! SUCH MISFORTUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The boy shouted out as he gripped his head and rolled on the ground as Frenda took her prize and placed it where it had gone previously in her dress, as she grabbed the boy by the neck and dragged him back to the table.

"Right, none of your smart ass remarks. Choose one and smash it."

"B-but if I do then-!"

"That's why I said you didn't need the 1000 Yen where you're going." remarked Frenda nonchalantly as she sat down in the chair.

"Th-That's evil! What kind of scam is this? Are you an idiot?" asked the boy with obvious shock in his voice.

"What kind of idiot falls for this kind of thing?!" shouted Frenda back as she handed the hammer towards the boy who seemed to tremble.

The boy looked towards it as Frenda grinned. Even if he were to swing it, Frenda planned to run away the moment he started to swing the hammer down. As long as she did that, then her plan for 1000 Yen acquisition was complete! But first he had to swing the thing!

"H-hang on, you said you didn't know which one had the bomb in it! So what happens if I call Anti-Skill or Judgment?" asked the boy.

"Be my guest. Basically, in the time it takes them to get here, I will have forced you to smash both of the toys. So even if you manage to get the Good Toy, I still get 1000 Yen!" stated Frenda with a smile to which the boy truly seemed to sniffle with tears in his eyes as he listened to the harsh words that Frenda was giving him.

"Such misfortune." he said as he wiped his nose with his sleeve as he stared hard at the two toys, gulping as sweat rolled down his back as he tapped his foot on the ground, looking at both of the toys.

This was a life and death situation! People might say that it was like flipping a coin with a 50% chance either way however unknown to Frenda, the boy in front of her could be revered as a God of Misfortune due to the power in his right hand.

While it might be 50%, whenever the boy flipped a coin, a magpie would always snatch it away in mid-air.

When it came to rolling a six sided die and choosing an odd or even number coming up, the die would always split in half revealing both of the opposite side that the boy chose.

When there were no signs over the boy and girl bathroom, the boy would always manage to choose the girls!

There was no such thing as 50%! It was 100% in the negative direction!

Yet for the boy that meant that he knew that his first choice was probably going to fail.

"In that case, it's the left!" he said, turning towards it as Frenda seemed to lean forward as the boy gripped the hammer.

But….wait.

This was no joke. Knowing his misfortune, the left was probably the Good Toy, the right one being the bomb. That meant his decision was correct. He had originally thought that the bomb was the left meaning that he would have smashed the right.

But knowing his misfortune, the right would have been the one with the bomb following his original decision! So the correct answer was that the left was the Good Toy!

But what if that was just his thinking?

What if he had enough bad luck for one day? He had gotten roped up in this situation meaning that that was enough right? Wasn't this the worse things could get?

Didn't that mean that his misfortune was working against him? Did that not mean that if he chose the right being the bomb, his misfortune would know that he would think that and thus make the left one the bomb!? He would then smash what he thought was the Good Toy and be blown to smithereens!

In other words…..was his misfortune bluffing? Saying that it was one thing, only for it to be the other?

Or was it a double bluff?

Would misfortune act in a way that would make the boy think that it was the left with the bomb when he had originally thought it was the right only for him to turn towards his original decision and then get blown to smithereens!?

Or was it a triple bluff?!

Or the dreaded quadruple bluff?!

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Which is it, which is it, which is iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttt!? What did I deserve for this to happen to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?" The boy shouted out as he dropped the hammer, dropping to the ground and rolling on the ground frantically, causing a scene and making people back away from the table and around a 5 metre radius.

Frenda looked towards the boy and slightly felt some pity towards him and the situation he was in. Definitely, this was something that was worthy of misfortune that he had mentioned. She had been in the same situation and truly, truly felt pity towards him.

She made a decision. If he died, she was going to do the good thing and give him back that 1000 Yen. After all, she had heard that when one died, they had to pay someone to get across the something-or-rather. Not only that but he would get the benefit of having something that smelled like her on the way!** [2]**

She nodded at her kindness yet watched the boy as he opened his eyes, lightly breathing as he stood up, picking up the hammer and steeling himself. He gulped and stared towards Frenda, the girl almost looking away ashamed and embarrassed at the look that he was giving her.

It wasn't one of hate like what she had been accepting. Instead it was one of understanding, an understanding of the situation that he was in and accepting it for what it was.

Yet at the same time, there was an aspect of determination and willpower that Frenda had never seen within someone unless they were about to die. Granted, he definitely was but these as well as the true acceptance of the situation made her look away in shame at having put him in the situation and embarrassment.

She did not think she could reach his level.

He moved forward regardless of the situation around him.

And that was something that Frenda had yet to reach.

"Everyone." The boy spoke, his voice loud as he looked only at the toys in front of him.

He grit his teeth.

He tightened his grip on the hammer as he spoke once more.

"Everyone get away!" The boy shouted at the top of his lungs, people backing away from the boy to which then boy looked towards Frenda who flinched at his gaze, ready to move away however…

No….was this really the right thing to do? She had wanted to do something for Frenda, simply wanted to give her something that she had plenty of in order to make a small difference towards the sister that she loved so much.

That was definitely not wrong but was it at the cost of something else?

Did this boy not have family?

Did he not have someone that he did not want to leave no matter what?

She felt ashamed that she had brought this upon someone else, someone that truly wanted to live and had wanted to make sure everyone else did.

She, Frenda Seivelun, would not kill this person. He was not a target for assassination, nor was he a criminal of the world. He was just a normal boy who seemed to be passing. That was all he was and all he would be.

So was this right?

Was this what Frenda herself wanted?

Why had she done this in the first place?

Why had she-

Frenda Seivelun blinked and went white in the face as she realised one, very basic point, something that she should have known in the very beginning.

She had wanted to give Fremea something that she had plenty of.

Something that she had plenty of!

"Wait! I'd forgotten! Basically, don't do it because I have plenty more!" she shouted in the chair in front of the boy as the boy himself went wide eyed.

Yet it was too late.

The hammer had been swung-

* * *

><p>"O-Onee-chan!? What happened to you?!"<p>

Frenda looked at her little sister, Fremea Seivelun in the dimly lit street. While the day had already passed, the hell that Frenda had endured had not ended with the day. Blood covered her hands however it was not the tragic scene that one might have thought it would have been upon looking at the scene for the first time.

"B-Basically, I ran into an idiot and he caused me a lot of trouble."

Her clothes were a mess, cuts in most places with her beret having a large cut in it as well as the colour red in it. Her top and stockings were covered with the remains of smoke and Frenda's face itself did not appear to look very amused in regards to the situation at hand.

The reason of course was obvious, looking back at the previous events.

_"Wait! I'd forgotten! Basically, don't do it because I have plenty more!" she shouted in the chair in front of the boy as the boy himself went wide eyed._

_Yet it was too late._

_The hammer had been swung-_

_Yet as the boy move for the downswing, both of them stared at the fact that the hammer was no longer in the boy's hands._

_"Eh?"_

_"Eh?"_

_They both said that at the same time as Frenda watched the faces of those around them, noting how they were following something that was flying through the air, heading towards the opposite side of the road, where the practically empty petrol station was located._

_She stood up, following the hammer's flight with her eyes, the boy frowning as he turned around and went wide eyed as he saw the flight of the hammer as it approached the station._

_"Oh shi-!" He cried as he immediately threw the table towards the ground, the rabbit dolls falling towards him as he vaulted the table and tackled Frenda to the ground, using the table as a shield for something that had yet to happen._

_The boy pulled Frenda close and she went red in the face as she pushed against the boy's face._

_"H-Hey, basically what the hell do you think-!?"_

_Her words were never answered as the hammer completed its flight, smashing into a gas pump on the opposite side of the road in a physics defying stunt, imbedding itself into the pump, gasoline leaking out as the clash of metal on metal caused sparks to fly from the impact._

_Sparks that ignited the leaking fuel._

_However even though that was the case, the fact that the hammer had imbedded itself in the gas pump was enough to ignite the entire pump, the pump exploding as flames engulfed it, enveloping the car that had been filling up at the same place, the owner looking in shock from where he was paying inside the station._

_Yet there was only one thing that could happen._

_The car exploded, tires and glass flying in all directions as a fireball engulfed it as it was blown into the air, flipping and landing upside down in an almost perfect fashion._

_While the exploding parts of the car did not reach the other side of the road, if they had the table would have served as the perfect cover. Yet given the fact that they were both safe, Frenda pushed the boy away who seemed stunned that that had been the end of it._

_"Hey, get off me you per-!"_

_*sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss*_

_The hissing sound filled her ears as she went wide eyed as she looked over the table towards the rabbit dolls that had fallen from a decent height, onto the ground, the impact setting of one thing._

_It was a soft sound but it was definitely there._

_"The fuse!"_

_"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" cried the boy as he pulled her back under the cover as the hissing sound filled the air. It was soft, evident of one bomb as it continued as Frenda grit her teeth and closed her eyes as she awaited-_

_*ssssssssssssssssssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*_

_The hissing got louder as Frenda opened her eyes in realisation of what she was hearing. Why were there two fuses? That didn't make sense. After all, she knew that a bomb was in at least one of the toys…_

_She realised her mistake._

_While she had always assumed that there was a bomb in one of the toys, she knew for sure that there was a bomb in at least one of the toys. Logically speaking, it would have been easy for her to determine which one had the bomb._

_As the toys weighed the same, the bomb would have given extra weight meaning that the heavier toy was the one with the bomb._

_Yet what if they both had bombs?_

_If that was the case then the bombs that weighed the same, paired with the toys that weighed the same would lead to a situation where both toys would weigh the same. Thus meaning that the reason why she couldn't determine which one was the bomb because of weight was because of the fact that-_

_"Wait! Why are these two fuses!?" shouted the boy as he looked towards the girl who made the cutest look he could as she laughed._

_"Tee hee?" she said nervously._

_"'Tee hee' isn't the thing to say! So are you telling me that I would have chosen the Bad Toy regardless?! I should have guessed! Such-"_

_The boy never finished as both bombs exploded, the force of the blow resulting in the boy and Frenda being blown backwards into the restaurant from the blast, smashing through the window and landing inside._

_People screamed outside as they were blown back as well from the two bombs however the closest people of the boy and Frenda were the only ones that been harmed the greatest as they had fallen through the window, landing on a table before rolling off and hitting the ground, both of their bodies covered with dirt and smoke from the blast._

_They both coughed as they lay on the floor of Joseph's, the boy's body on top of Frenda's as she opened her eyes and realised the situation that they were both in, going red in the face as she saw the provocative position and further red as she noticed where the boy's hand was currently located._

_Luckily, it was not on her breast._

_Well perhaps not luckily. Because it was currently somehow located underneath her dress, the boy's fingers brushing against a place beneath her hipbone as the boy's fingers touched something papery underneath it._

_"My…1000 Yen?" the boy asked, dazed as he blinked upon realising where it had been located in the first place, going red faced as he tried to stand up however Frenda screamed, slapping the boy in the face as he fell backwards, not collecting his money as he hit the ground as Frenda backed away from him, covering her body with her hands._

_"You….you…..you….."_

_"Wait! It's a misunderstanding! This is your fault anyway! I-I think that you should pay for this damage at the very least! I had nothing to do with this!" shouted the boy as the owner appeared to assess the damage, looking at the two people that had caused the chaos and turned towards the boy._

_"You! What did we tell you about coming back here?!"_

_"Last time wasn't me either!" shouted the boy towards the manager however Frenda trembled as she looked towards the boy, stealing a knife that was lying near her as she looked towards the boy with tears her eyes._

_"Basically….you're going to take responsibility!"_

_"Let's think about context right thereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" shouted the boy as he saw the weapon, standing up and running out of the restaurant with Frenda in pursuit as she threw the knife towards him, missing as she chased him._

_"Come back here you bastard!"_

_"Why did this have to happen to me?! Such misfortuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"_

"I don't want to talk about it Fremea. But I think I turned into one of those violent characters in games that you love so much."

"N-Nyahh?! Essentially, did you win in the best way that you could Onee-chan?!" asked Fremea with sparkles in her eyes as she looked towards her older sister, Frenda sticking out her tongue and winking.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?" she asked her to which she reached under her dress and pulled out a small rabbit doll that she handed to Fremea.

"But this is for you."

"Hmm? What is it for Onee-chan?" asked Fremea as she looked towards the rabbit doll with a curious expression as Frenda put a finger her chin, trying to think of an excuse but being unable to.

"Well, let's just say that this is for you being a good girl. Is that OK?" She asked her to which Fremea tilted her nod yet nodded with a perfect smile on her face, bringing the rabbit closer towards her as she hugged the doll with all her might.

"Thanks Onee-chan! Essentially, I can hit it all I want right?" she asked her to which Frenda grinned.

"Basically, of course! This onee-chan has removed all danger from it so you can be sure of that!" she said confidently as Fremea nodded.

"But this one has the red stuff on your hands as well. It smells funny." she remarked as she sniffed it to which Frenda looked away sheepishly.

"W-Well basically, it's nothing to concern yourself with Fremea-chan. Let's get you something to eat though right?"

"Essentially, nothing with peas nyah!"

"Yes, yes I know. Maybe we'll go to the store and get some canned mackerel." she remarked.

She grabbed her sister's hands as Fremea whistled A Certain Tune as she swung her arms in an exaggerated fashion as Frenda watched her do so with a smile on her face as they walked through the crowds, the girl of the darkness moving.

While she had ended lives herself, at the same time, she knew that those lives had lived on without her knowing. While they had ended at her hand, almost as if they were destined to do so, they had still lived without her knowing. And while there were people she did not want to associate with because of their nature, mainly Hamazura, she did have to admit that there was one thing that she had in common with him and with everyone.

She would eventually experience loss.

Whether it be through her death or the death through others, the fact that the stage was only for her left perhaps a lasting impression when she thought about it. While there were players that occupied the stage with her, it would all be over once she left that stage.

The play would end, the final act being hers and hers alone.

Frenda Seivelun knew that experience would be inevitable for her and even Fremea. The thought scared her, even though it was something that she knew she had accepted the moment that she had taken a life.

Everyone was hesitant to leave that stage.

They just wanted to act a little bit more.

But the reality was entirely different.

What would happen when Frenda herself left? She knew that it was going to happen and logically, as she was the older sister that meant that given they had the same life span, Frenda would be the one to leave the stage first. This was something that was also made truer given her 'occupation' but even so, she felt that twinge of selfishness.

She did not want to die.

If anything, she did not want to leave Fremea.

But it would eventually happen.

What type of mark would be left? What could she leave behind in order to show Fremea that perhaps there was that aspect of her that would stick with her forever? Was there anything that would fill the gap that Frenda knew she would leave when she left forever?

She did not want to see Fremea cry. But she knew that it would happen, whether she wanted it or not.

But who would take her place? Would anyone be able to do so, to fill that gap of 'sister' that Frenda herself possessed?

The problem with a connection like that was that they always hurt when they ended.

Frenda did not want to see it happen and she knew that Fremea probably didn't either. But that was the reality that she would leave behind after she left.

So would that doll provide something to soften the blow? Would the doll of her love indicate to Fremea that truly, truly, felt her to be her precious family?

Would it show-

"Hey, hey." said Fremea as she stopped swinging her arms, bringing the rabbit doll close to her chest as she stopped walking, Frenda turning around and facing her smaller sister in the street in the darkness that was lit.

"Hmm? What is it Fremea?" she asked her little sister.

Fremea clutched onto the doll a little bit tighter as she looked towards her big sister, speaking the words that came to her mind as naturally as naturally could be.

"I love you Frenda."

Fremea said that with a smile as Frenda blinked once, before closing her eyes and sighing, kneeling down and brushing Fremea's hair out of her face as she kissed her small forehead.

And Frenda Seivelun smiled in return.

"And I love you too Fremea."

Family was a bond that could be turned away, but would always be there, like a mark on one's soul. The stage would eventually be left but even so, Frenda knew that as long as those words held true, Fremea would have something to stand for.

Because, she was family.

And Frenda Seivelun loved her little sister.

"But, nyah, how are we going to pay for the mackerel? Can we use that 1000 Yen that I saw in your dress there Onee-chan? Why are they so close to your panties?"

Frenda let loose a hearty laugh as she wiped a tear from her eye, lifting Fremea by the legs in a piggy back as she moved forward, holding onto Fremea's legs as tightly as she could in the small silence of the City.

"That's a long story Fremea. Hopefully you will never meet that idiot as long as you live."

And they both walked along, the Seivelun sisters.

They did not know what lay ahead of them but that did not matter as they walked, Fremea on Frenda's back with a smile on her face and rabbit doll in her arms.

It was a pure smile, something that was mirrored on Frenda's face.

Did they need a reason to be happy in each other's presence?

They had their own lives but both of them knew one thing.

They were family.

And perhaps that was why Frenda Seivelun wanted to occupy that stage perhaps a little longer.

* * *

><p><strong>[1] I tried to make this story set in between when Touma first met Hamazura, SS1, but BEFORE Volume 14. Logically speaking I suppose this was really the only time in the Timeline where Touma could meet Frenda after meeting Hamazura.<strong>

**[2] Refers to Charon, the ferryman that one has to pay to get to Hades. A coin usually has to be paid, or in this case 1000 Yen to cross the Rivers Styx and Acheron.**

**DONE!**

**This is actually the first 'new' one-shot that has appeared in this project. Logically speaking, for those that read this, you can think of it as one of two things: Touma meeting Frenda and the idiocy that results or the bond between the Seivelun sisters. Personally, I wrote it with a focus on the latter as Touma's name is never mentioned but also because of the fact that we never really see their bond.**

**In the Index universe (or Raildex, whatever), the main bond of sisters is perhaps that of the Kumokawa sisters and to a lesser extent the Birdway sisters. But ever since Frenda died, I think that the gap that was there needed to be filled. Thus the point of this one-shot.**

**Not only that but it gave me the chance to write Frenda in. I hope that you approve. I mean what with the projects like A Certain World of Darkness, Twist of Fate and A New ROAD of Misfortune (accredited to SilverFang88, ADdude and Itherael respectively), many people have started to move forward with Frenda and her 'gap'.**

**I felt then that somewhat I should give it a go but using a context that perhaps Frenda might be faced with.**

**While Accelerator feels redemption of the deaths that he caused, reflective of perhaps how he understands the nature of it, Frenda really didn't get that much from what we saw. In a sense then, she is like Hamazura who fights for her sister who she loves.**

**But Frenda!**

**I really wanted to show the family bond that was lost however their sisterly love remains regardless with the thought that Fremea knows that Frenda loves her and vice versa. I do suppose that whatever we put our family through, we love them. I guess Frenda though wanted to state that through this way.**

**But that is all for me.**

**I hope that you enjoyed this.**

**And as always,  
>Review if you please<strong>

**And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.**

**Of course they were both bombs! It wouldn't be misfortune otherwise! But 'he' didn't end up getting the 1000 Yen back, even though he touched it…..**


End file.
